I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent person, but there is one area of my brain that seems severely underdeveloped to me. It's that area of my brain that recalls and remembers names. Once the name is solidly in my head, I rarely forget it. But the time and effort it takes me to shift from momentary to permanent recall is just embarrassing, almost shameful.
I once met a lady at church who reminded me of her name several times over the following few weeks. I just kept forgetting it, to the point wherein I eventually got too embarrassed to ask any more. Six months later I finally heard someone call her by her first name, Karen. Truly, I could not even remember the person's name when it was the same as mine!
Last week I encountered a huge grace in this area, a mental crutch that helped me recall the names of the new friends I met. I attended a conference that heavily encouraged all participants to wear name tags. In one session we were asked to greet the person next to us. As I greeted the gentleman behind me by name, he had an impressed and bewildered look on his face. "You remembered my name," he said, his look betraying the conviction that he did not know mine. In truth, I had never met the man before. I simply read his name tag.
While I am certain that countless people have also forgotten my name, I take great joy in knowing that that the maker and ruler of the universe knows me intimately. God has never forgotten my name or anything about me. God values us all. No visual cues of cheat sheets are needed for the Lord of all to remember who I am.
Here's an even more inspiring thought. Those of us who know Christ as our Lord and Savior have our names written somewhere far more enduring and important than a simple name tag. When the 72 people whom Christ sent out in Luke 10 came back rejoicing that demons submitted to them under Christ's authority, he reminded them of their real reason for celebration:
"Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." -Luke 10:7
I am so grateful to serve a God who knows my name and loves me so intimately. I am also humbled and encouraged to think that the very author of life has written my name, and my future, in Heaven. How about you?