Called By Name

The name he gave me as I handed out nametags didn’t seem to fit him. The chuckles from his friends as I compliantly wrote it down confirmed that it was not his. I later heard an adult leader refer to a student whom I hadn’t met, but quickly realized they were one and the same. “Oh, I think he picks a new name for every mission trip,” someone said with a laugh. Everyone from his church called him by a nickname. Then as we flipped through paperwork later on, we found another name we couldn’t place. Of course, this belonged to the same young man. Three names.

 

A staff member joked with him about this later in the week, proud that he had discovered his mother-given name. Later, the young man said, “My name is irrelevant. What matters is that I get the job done.”

 

And he got the job done. Always. With a cheerful spirit, with care, with diligence. He was up early each morning offering help. I once found him in the kitchen by himself washing our dishes. His love for his friends is evident. He is a gifted leader and is clearly admired by all around him.

 

There is no mistaking the image of God in him; but he has never heard his creator call him by name. He desires to live a life that looks a lot like the one Jesus lived; but he has yet to accept the grace Jesus would offer, the permission to be weak and imperfect, the forgiveness available for the times when the job doesn’t get done.

 

Years later, my heart still aches when I think about him. When he comes to mind, it is first by his mission-trip name. But I try to remind myself of his “real” name — the one his mother called him when he was born. It is a good name. And it is the only one that has been with him throughout all the years of his life.

 

The words of “Before the Throne of God Above” could not be more compelling:

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me there depart

Jesus said:

He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out (John 10:3).

Rejoice that your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20).

We can rejoice indeed, because by the grace of God, it is not our works that are written in the book of life. Rather, we are known to Him by that one thing that best represents all of who we are, not merely what we have done: our names.

Dear Father, give him ears to hear you call his name. Let him trust and rest in your leading and provision as the good shepherd. Grant him faith to believe that you really could love him, simply because he is your son. Jesus, live and plead for him. Plead that he might hear and know the sound of his own name, and the One who calls him. Amen.

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Jenilyn Swett spent five years and a total of nine summers serving with YouthWorks in various capacities. God used YouthWorks to shape and influence her in countless ways — she credits her time on staff with introducing her to Chick-Fil-A, all things Southern, the beauty of places like New Orleans and Savannah, and many of her dearest friends. Beyond that, she developed a deep love for the Church. After graduating from seminary,she now serves as the Director of Women’s Ministry at a church in St. Louis, Missouri (where she spent her second YW summer in 2003) and follows #yw2014 incessantly!