Called by name
It occurred to me this week that many of us have titles; professor, mechanic, doctor, pastor, nurse, teacher, plumber, carpenter, mother, father, and the list can go forever. Many of us have worked hard to earn our titles, I know I spent many hours becoming a nurse and I take a certain amount of pride in the title. But there are days I don’t want to be the nurse; I just want to be Jody, it’s comforting. Isaiah 43:1b “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.” In context this is a prophecy to Israel and goes on to describe how God will be w ith us through water and fire, in other words through all our traumas. I cherish the idea of being called by name. You see, along with the titles we might bear come expectations, responsibilities, and pressures. I recall my first year of being a nurse among a staff of about 40 other fabulous nurses and feeling a bit lost in the crowd working the off shift and one of the doctors called