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You got it from your father
It was all he had to give
So, it’s yours to use and cherish
For as long as you may live.
If you lose the watch he gave you
It can always be replaced
But a black mark on your name, son
Can never be erased.
It was clean the day you took it
And a worthy name to bear
When he got it from his father
There was no dishonor there.
So make sure you guard it wisely
After all is said and done
You’ll be glad the name is spotless
When you give it to your son.
This very appropriate poem, written by Edgar Guest, should hit all of us right in the heart. How much do we value our own personal name, our family name, our heritage? Is it just a title we carry along with us? Do we take it for granted? What action do we take to protect it?
What is in a name?
Webster defines a name as a family, designation or reputation (Webster’s New World Dictionary, College Ed. 1954). However, it goes beyond these definitions in terms of the way God looks at it. Our reputation certainly speaks—either on our behalf or against us! But God looks down deep into the heart of a man. He determines what that reputation is like by the character that He sees beneath the façade.
Solomon says, “Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right” (Prov. 20:11). Even we, like little children, are known by our doings—by our lifestyle, by our reputation, by the very character that we are in the process of developing as the begotten children of God. Because the name of the game is character development. If we are fully concentrating on building holy, righteous character, we will have the right kind of reputation.
Every time someone hears a name, an image immediately flashes through his mind. This is true of Biblical names as well. What do these names mean to you? What is the first thought that comes into your mind?
Cain—the first murderer. That's the reputation that went before him and remains after him. Abel—his brother who was slain. By reputation he was “righteous Abel” (Matt. 23:35). Abraham—the “father of the faithful.” What about Jacob, who wrestled with Jesus Christ? We know him as the Prevailer or Overcomer—Israel. This is his reputation.
When you hear the name of David a number of things come to mind. You could think of David and Goliath. You could think of David, a man after God's own heart. Esau is known as the one who treated his birthright lightly and cheaply, and sold it for a bowl of pottage. Korah was the gainsayer who stirred up a rebellion against Moses and God's Government. That is the reputation that follows Korah's name.
What do we think about when we hear the name of Jesus? Our Saviour, our Messiah, our elder Brother, the one who sits at the right hand of God, the one who is concerned about what is going on in our lives.
What thoughts go through people’s minds when they hear your name? Words like dependable, loyal, dedicated, self–sacrificing? Do they think, “Oh, he has some strange religious beliefs but nevertheless he has flawless character.” These are some of the positive things that we would like to think that they believe about us.
Group labeling
What kind of a reputation do we have collectively as the Body of Christ? Are we a reflection of Him, or are we a reflection on Him? We are responsible before God for the way in which we bear His name as the Church of God.
Solomon has more to say about the reputation of the family name, the legacy that you are going to pass on to your offspring—to your children, who are going to carry it on to their children. Solomon says that a good name or a good reputation “is rather to be chosen than great riches” (Prov. 22:1). Do not take the name passed on to us for granted! It is to be held in high esteem. This is what should be desired, to have that kind of character that has been perfected beyond our fondest dreams, following in the footsteps of our Saviour and Elder Brother Jesus Christ.
I John 2:28–29 reminds us of why the responsibility is so heavy: “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.” We have the task of wrestling with our human nature, subjugating it, putting it down, mortifying the deeds of the flesh and conforming to the character of Jesus Christ. That is going to require a great deal of overcoming!
John continues in the next chapter: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not” (I John 3:1). He says that we should be called the children of God. This is why the importance and the emphasis on our reputation and whether we are a reflection of the Body of Christ—or are we playing games?
God’s promise
God looks at things as though they already exist. We are the children of God—begotten and waiting for the day when we are going to be born into the Kingdom and Family of God. So He says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (vv 2–3).
This is the promise that we have: that we shall shine greater than the sun at full strength. That kind of brilliance is going to be given to us for we shall see Him as He is. We have this hope—the hope of the resurrection, the hope of fulfilling the purpose of our existence, the hope of eternal life and salvation! So we must be going through the process of purifying ourselves, which requires a great deal of pressure, heat, circumstances—so much that sometimes we feel it’s beyond our enduring.
Yet we know that we have a promise from God that he will not allow us to suffer more than we are able to endure, but will with it make a way of escape (I Cor. 10:13). But we have to have the eyes to recognize the escape routes. We have to have the Spirit of God dwelling in us in such a sensitive way that we are immediately alerted to all forms of danger and anything that is foreign or opposed to God’s way. It has to be alive and vibrant and healthy in us.
Jesus Christ reminds us in Revelation 3:11–13: “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
Eternal life and salvation is a gift from God if we endure to the end. This is the promise, this is the reward we can look to beyond the shadow of a doubt!
God has already written His name upon us because He looks at things as though they already exist! We are the children of God. We are the Family of God. We have an obligation and a responsibility to be concerned about the name that God has placed upon us.
But if we are going to be careless about the manner in which we have dealt with the name that our fathers have passed on to us, if we are going to be careless and reckless with what our parents have given us, even though God is looking forward to writing His new name on us, will we be there to receive it?
So how important is the name that your father passed on to you?