Hello. My name is ____________

Our parents (hopefully) put some thought into what our given names are and perhaps even chose them based on the meaning of the name.  Or it could be you have a family name passed on through generations where you have to live up to it.  Or your name may have even been picked out for the way it sounds and rolls off the tongue and delights the ear.  Whatever the reason(s) your name is what you are known by, it is what people use to call you, to hail you, to refer to you.  Your name is insightful, intimate, and important.

God writes in His Word that one day we will be given a new name - a name that only He knows.  “To the one who conquers … I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.” - Revelation 2:17 ESV 

What a promise from a loving and gracious God.  He gives us a new name, and only He knows it.  It makes me think of pet names spouses use for each other to convey affection and endearment.  Or parents who might use a nickname for their child as a way to describe them in special ways.  Others may hear the name - but only the ones who have been given that name know the special meaning and love behind it.  When God will give us a new name, that only He knows, He will call us with that name in love and endearment.     

Matthew West has a recent song that re-imagines regret and defeat as trying to drag us down and whisper to the world our failures, shaming and naming us as such.  But with the healing power of God’s Grace the chorus gratefully reminds us that our moniker can now be “child of the one true King.”  Have you listened to the voice of Grace that sets you free and gives you a new name?  Jesus is calling and wants you to conquer and have a new name.  Here’s to the real King, who sets us free by His saving Grace and great love, and all we have to do is come to the end of us, giving up our regret and defeat, and accept His free gift of salvation.  Here’s to your new name. 

Hello, my name is regret
I’m pretty sure we have met
Every single day of your life
I’m the whisper inside
That won’t let you forget

Hello, my name is defeat
I know you recognize me
Just when you think you can win
I’ll drag you right back down again
‘Til you’ve lost all belief

Oh, these are the voices. Oh, these are the lies
And I have believed them for the very last time

Hello, my name is child of the one true King
I’ve been saved, I’ve been changed, I have been set free
"Amazing Grace" is the song I sing
Hello, my name is child of the one true King

I am no longer defined
By all the wreckage behind
The one who makes all things new
Has proven it’s true
Just take a look at my life

Hello, my name is child of the one true King
I've been saved, I've been changed, I have been set free
"Amazing Grace" is the song I sing
Hello, my name is child of the one true King

What love the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called His children
I am a child of the one true King

What love the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called His children

Hello, my name is child of the one true King
I've been saved, I've been changed, I have been set free
"Amazing Grace" is the song I sing
Hello, my name is child of the one true King

I am a child of the one true King

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