By Name

April arrives at Cunningham Pond.

Here it is the first Sunday morning in April, ice is out of the ponds and spring birds are singing up a storm, and for some reason, the Christmas story is speaking loudly…

“The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.”—Luke 1:26-27

It is speaking loudly right now because it’s a reminder for all those times and all those days when you wonder if God even knows where you live. When you wonder if He notices us or hears our prayers—especially the ones we lift up over and over and over again—or if maybe instead we’re all part of this one grand heavenly “hey you down there” Church. Super-Christians can stop faking it, because we've all been there. When you’re in the midst of "one of those days, "it’s easy to think He kinda notices who we are but that maybe we’re just another familiar face in the crowd. 

But this beloved passage from the Christmas story, one that often goes in one ear and out the other during the holidays, is speaking loudly on an April Sunday because it’s a reminder that...

God not only loves all that He has made, when He has a plan and the timing is right, it is never a random act of kindness, and it is always personal…

The angel wasn’t just any one of the gazillions in the army of the heavenly hosts.

God picked one by name: Gabriel.

And Gabriel wasn’t just sent to roam anywhere on the earth to see what he could see, he was on a specific assignment that had a name: Redemption.

And Gabriel could have gone to any one of a million places in all the world but God sent him to a specific land that had the name Galilee and then not to just to any old town or village but like an arrow hitting its target in an unlikely place with the name Nazareth…

"The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.”—John 1:14 Message

...But come on, there were probably hundreds if not thousands of virgins in that town.

And yet God sent Gabriel to just one who was betrothed to a man by the name of Joseph.

Well, gee, there were probably thousands of Josephs in that town, too.

But nothing random here—Gabriel had his eyes on one Joseph out of a thousand who alone was of King David’s and the Messiah’s line...the Name above all names.

And wait…not just betrothed to any nameless, faceless young girl but to a virgin named Mary.

It is all speaking loudly right now because the common denominator in all of this is that every thing and every place and every person had a name. And Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Nothing random. Never a “hey you down there” or “oh listen, whatshisname is praying again.”

There are few things more meaningful or loving or fueling feelings of worth as when someone calls us by name. And the best and most important Someone in all of history always does. Never forget. Never ever forget…

“Look at the myriad of stars and constellations above you.

Who set them to burning, each in its place?

Who knows those countless lights each by name?

They obediently shine, each in its place, because God has the great strength and strong power to make it so.

Why, then, do you, Jacob, inheritors of God’s promise, you, Israel, chosen of God—

Why do you say, “My troubled path is hidden from the Eternal; God has lost all interest in My cause”?

Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?

The Eternal, the Everlasting God, the Creator of the whole world, never gets tired or weary.

His wisdom is beyond understanding.

God strengthens the weary and gives vitality to those worn down by age and care.

Young people will get tired; strapping young men will stumble and fall.

But those who trust in the Eternal One will regain their strength.

They will soar on wings as eagles.

They will run—never winded, never weary.

They will walk—never tired, never faint.”

—Isaiah 40:26-31, Voice