“Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni” (which is to say, Teacher).” (John 20:15-16, NKJV)
I went to a medical facility yesterday for a regularly scheduled sonogram. The technician announced her name when we entered the sonogram room. I told her I had met several ladies through the years who shared her beautiful name.
She said, ‘my mother gave me this name, not because of any past lineage, but because she thought it was a beautiful name.’ She smiled and said ‘well, I guess my mother was paying me a compliment at my birth!’ When I left she told me I had made her day!
After Jesus died, His followers must have felt lost. Even though Jesus told them that He would rise from the dead, they were still scared and alone without their teacher and friend. So, on Sunday morning … when they got word from Mary that Jesus’ tomb was empty … they had to see for themselves. They ran as fast as they could and found the tomb empty just as Mary had said. They left not knowing exactly what to think.
Today, there are still so many that feel alone … with lonely feelings and dispositions that can be hard to explain … even harder to deal with! Do you know someone that fits this description? Do you fit this description? It should be a wonderful and reassuring truth to know that the tender and compassionate way in which Jesus revealed Himself to her is how He sees us in our loneliness, our not understanding the why of things.
Jesus knew all about her sorrows, He knew that her heart was broken and that she was now confused after finding the stone rolled away from the tomb … and no body was inside the tomb … with only the linens He had been buried with.
And the most beautiful and greatest recognition scene is described by John in a way that reflects the Lord’s ongoing mindfulness of her and by extension … you and I as His followers today! And He did so through the use of one word, “Mary!” Just hearing her name spoken by the Lord was all it took. The love, compassion, warmth … she recognized the voice of the Lord, even as He had spoken earlier in His ministry when He said, “the sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name … for they know His voice.” (John 10:3,4)
Your name is often your first introduction, a word you respond to, even when whispered in a crowd. Jesus knows your name too. He lived, died, and rose again from the dead for you by name. Are there times in your own life when you don’t feel known or loved? In those times, remember that Jesus knows your name. The Word of God is replete with example after example confirming He knows you by name and loves you very much. You are special to Jesus!
So, yes, God knows you by name, understands your heart, and cares about your life. You are not forgotten, and you are known and cherished by the Creator of the universe.
When one examines the New Testament church, it can easily seen how a belief in the truth of the resurrection “empowered them to ‘[turn] the world upside down.” (Acts 17:6) The belief of the early Christians produced within their hearts a new way of life (1 Corinthians 15:58-16:1) … brought hope in moments of worldly despair (2 Corinthians 1:3-11), causing the earliest followers of Jesus to become the greatest force for God on earth (Galatians 3:28).
And so, every first day of the week … not just one or two days out of the year … but the first day of every week we remember through our partaking of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11) His life, death, burial, and resurrection as we look forward to His return!
And if God knows me by name, then God knows my story, my heritage, my beginning, and my end. Knowing me by name means knowing the very core of me.
Everybody won’t know our names, not in this lifetime. But God will. God does. And God’s perfect knowledge … not ours … is what can motivate each of us to obtain salvation.
Rest assured that God knows you personally, cares about you deeply, and calls you by name. You matter to Him, and He desires a relationship with you.
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
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