Dear Friends,
Names are important, and as I grow older, names have become
increasingly more difficult for me to remember. There have been times when
I am up front following the service, and I am praying for someone, and I
suddenly draw a blank as I have forgotten the name of the person for whom I am
praying.
One of my most embarrassing experiences took place early in my
ministry when I had taken my wife to visit a parishioner. I was taking a
memory course designed to help increase my ability to remember names, something
that I thought would be helpful for a young pastor to do. One of the keys
to remembering names was word association, associating a person's name with
another thing or object.
As Jean and I stood at the front door of the home we were
visiting, the door opened and I exclaimed, "Mrs. White, I just
dropped by because I wanted you to meet my wife. Jean." The problem was
that Mrs. White was not Mrs. White, but Mrs. Snow. So much for my memory
association. Fortunately, Mrs. Snow had a wonderful sense of humor,
and we all had a good laugh about my gaffe.
Famed author and motivational speaker Dale Carnegie said,
"A person's name is, to that person, the sweetest, most important sound in
any language." God understood that principle a few thousand years
earlier when he inspired John to write in John 10:3, "He (Jesus) calls his
own sheep, (that's you and me), by name." The Old Testament prophet Isaiah,
(43:2): writes, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called
you by name, you are mine."
We all know the feeling we get when someone knows us and calls us
by our name. We feel, "He/She remembers me." "I must be
important."
And so when you are discouraged and feeling down, thinking no one
knows or cares about you or even knows your name, think of Jesus standing before
you and looking into your eyes as He says, ____________I love you. You are so
special to me that I died to redeem you and make you my own.
That is God's promise. "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I
have called you by your name; You are Mine"
(Isaiah 43:1).
Yours in faith and friendship,
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