Wow! 2020 has certainly taken an interesting swing. Hope you are well. Hopefully you are gaining personal clarity this year. As we’ve been discussing, labels will keep us from seeing clearly. Labels cause us to see ourselves according to a title given to us. Whether the label is true or not, it is not the compete picture of who we are, thus more harmful than good. Instead of seeing ourselves through the lens of a label, let’s ask God what He says about us. What God says should influence how we see ourselves more than anything else.
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It is important to know that there is a difference between a label and a name. Labels limit. If we label ourselves according to culture’s standards, we may feel we need to stay within the limits of the expectations of that title. For example, a blue-collar worker may feel there is no time or need for additional education, while a white-collar worker may feel ashamed to do mechanical work on his own car. While labels limit us, names build us.
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Jesus had a disciple named Simon. Simon was a fisherman with a big mouth. In the world of labels, he would probably have been labeled poor, white trash, loudmouth, classless. Once he became a disciple of Jesus, he might have been labeled a religious fanatic. One day Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” The disciples answered that the people thought He might be a prophet or something. Then Jesus asked, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Recognizing that Simon had been shown this by God and not by natural observation, Jesus told him, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it…” The name Peter means “rock.” Peter was given a new name by Jesus – the rock, the rock that would build the church.
While the world gives labels that limit, Jesus gives names that build. While the world says we are poor, God names us prosperous. While the world says we are white trash, God names us jewels. While the world says we are loudmouth, God names us witnesses. While the world labels us as classless, God names us His children. While the world labels us religious fanatics, God names us world changers. What name has God given you? Have you asked him? In order to receive the name that God has given you, you have to reject the labels that the world has given you. Allow God to name you and you’ll be blown away by your potential. We were created with a purpose, and the name God gives us builds us. As Rick Warren wrote, “The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose.” If you have not been given a name by God, ask him. He’ll show you. He loves you!
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