Tuesday, February 16, 2021
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
Isaiah 43:1
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands…
Isaiah 49:16
These are very short Bible verses but I think they say so much. It is a wonderful thing that God knows my name! I am important to Him! He will never forget me!
Recently, I decided to look up the meaning of my name. According to several websites, Ruth means companion or friend. I’m sure my adoptive mother wasn’t thinking about that when she gave me my name. Actually, I was born Margaret Ann but when I was adopted my mother wanted me to be named after her so she changed my name to Ruth Ann. Since then I have dropped the Ann part and now I’m “just plain Ruth”. So, there isn’t anything deep about how I got my name.
After looking up the meaning of the name Ruth, I decided to look up the name Margaret and found that it means Pearl. Okay, not sure where to go with that one so I think I’ll just stick with Ruth.
Even though there may be no truth to the claims of baby name origins, I have decided to declare that I like being associated with the idea of being a companion and a friend.
But even more than liking the meaning of my name, I love it that God tells us that He has “inscribed” us on the palms of His hands. Just think about that – God has your name tattooed on his hands. This means that God not only has not forgotten you, but He cannot forget you. You never leave His mind.
We forget God all the time, and we often fail to keep in mind those we are supposed to love in this world. We get distracted and consumed with our own troubles and feelings – like this pandemic. For this reason, we sometimes think that God is like us, distracted from us. We think because we have not been thinking of Him, He has not been thinking of us. But God is not like us. He is perfectly faithful. God has a mind for us, but He also has a heart for us. He loves us, and that is why He will not forget us.
Thank you, God, for loving us so much and for never forgetting us. Help us to love others as You love us. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
Pastor Ruth
