Is My Name Written There?

“And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.”  (Philippians 4:3)

One of the greatest privileges of living in the “land of the free and the home of the brave’” is that of being able to vote on various issues, bond proposals and for the persons whom we believe to be most qualified to serve in elected positions.

There is a list at the location where we vote with a book-like binder that contains the names of all those in that precinct who have been lawfully registered to vote.  I did what I needed to do to have my name there.

The Bible speaks of books … God’s books!  And one of those books mentioned in God’s Book, the Bible, is “the book of life.”

God has always been aware of each of our lives.  He knows the good, the bad and the ugly.  David speaks of His “understanding our frame” (Psalm 103:14).  Nothing we do in this life goes unnoticed!

Among the many wonderful and encouraging promises found in God’s word is that of the Lord who is our Shepherd and the fact that He knows His sheep (John 10:3).

The Lord knows our weaknesses, frailties and our limitations.  Like a good shepherd knows each of his sheep, our Shepherd knows our strengths and weaknesses.  He knows what our fears are, why our tears have been shed and what brought sorrow and disappointed to our hearts and lives.

But the most meaningful aspect of John 10:3 is that He knows us by name!”  Sometimes I get my grandkids names mixed up when I am trying to get them to slow down, get me something, answer a question, etc.  Our Lord never gets us confused with someone else.

It is because He calls us by name that we can draw great encouragement. You see, because we are the sheep of His pasture, because we are His people through faith and obedience … we are precious in His sight!

We would all do well to give more thought to the brevity of life and meeting the Lord in Judgment.  Having considered for so long and so often these thoughts, I have tried with my limited knowledge to picture these scenes in my mind.

Can you imagine on that great and final day hearing the Lord confess before the court of glory, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom that has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world”? (Matthew 25:34).

For Him to say before the court of Heaven, “I know you” and to be called by name as one of His own (Matthew 10:32-33) is really beyond our ability to comprehend, but it is enough to know that it will be so because the Bible tells us so!

I want to go to Heaven and I am so disappointed in myself when any choices that I make say otherwise!  Yes, God forgives us as we obey His will and for that mercy and grace each of us must be so grateful!

Regardless of any other accomplishments or reputation that we might achieve in this life … to have one’s name acknowledged by Christ before God … that is what we should long for!

So … is my name written there in the Lord’s “book of life”?  Is yours? Our names can only be written there when we resolve to in faith and obedience follow the will of God with complete surrender of our heart, mind, soul and life!

“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”  (Revelation 3:5)

Bill Fairchild, Jr.

 

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