Drawing a blank when it comes to God’s name

hello-my-name-is

Exchanging names is the starting point of any meaningful relationship.

Like a company trademark, one’s personal name carries the goodwill and reputation vested in it over the course of a lifetime. When we hear or read a person’s name, we immediately consult countless thousands of information files tucked away in the recesses of our brain. This phenomenon happens subconsciously, almost instantaneously. Upon locating a match, the metaphoric file opens, revealing all we know about that person.

If you are like me, it seems our retrieval capabilities slow down the older we get. We don’t recall names quite so fast as we once did. But those names with whom we have the most experience and first-hand knowledge, those belonging to our loved ones and closest friends, are usually the last names to fade from conscious memory.

Sometimes when a name is mentioned, our minds come up empty. This happens when we have no background knowledge or history with which to associate a name. We essentially draw a blank.

Sadly, more and more people in our western society draw blanks when it comes to God’s name. Worse still is when people have warped ideas associated with God.

Given that ignorance and confusion about God are fast becoming the norm, we are wise not to assume too much when we refer to God in a conversation with someone. The writer of one of the biblical Psalms makes an astute observation in this regard when he writes,

Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10 NIV

Apart from knowing who God is—his identity, and what he has done—his history, is it reasonable to expect someone to trust God? Are we, as Christ’s ambassadors, expecting people to trust a stranger?

As I write, a neighbour of mine is slowly coming to know who God is and what he is like, as a result of time we are spending together. Would you pray for Phil* that the name God will become increasingly meaningful and that he and his family will come to trust him?

GoodSeed offers a book written for this very purpose. By This Name carefully front-loads the reader’s understanding with God’s identity and his history as revealed in the Bible. It makes few assumptions. It lets the message speak for itself without arm-twisting. Told as a story, it features 1570 Bible verses woven throughout the narrative.

Just giving a book such as this to a friend or family member may well be their starting point for a meaningful relationship with God—the Creator God of the Bible.

The next time God’s name comes up in conversation, stop and consider whether your friend or family member understands who God is and what he is like. Be careful not to assume too much. And remember, the starting point of a relationship with God is the same as it is with any meaningful relationship—people first need to know his name.

 

(*Name changed as per GoodSeed policy.)

Photo credit: “Hello, my name is anonymous” by Quinn Dombrowski is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Staff Writer
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