The lights were low. The stage was lit modestly and the sound of voices all around embraced me. On stage was a sincere looking singer with a guitar…he had a unique finger picking style, I notice those things. A djembe player pounded out the rhythms on his wooden drum. The words of the familiar song flowed from the speakers like a blanket over the congregation and when they landed on me, they landed more like a bolder. The sweet melody was not heavy but the meaning struck me for the first time, “He knows my name.” He, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. The all-wise, powerful God, “knows my name.”
My name changed that night. I was still Aaron but that name meant something different now. It referenced a young man who had given all of himself to the God who had spoken his name. It was there in a Bible college chapel that I said to God, “whatever you want from me, I will do, just keep speaking my name.”
In Revelation 2:17, Jesus tells the members of this church that he will reward a new name to those who, “conquer.” Those who don’t give in to the Balaam and Nicolatan followers and instead choose to follow Jesus alone, would get a new name. The passage doesn’t say what the new name would be, in fact only the recipient of the name would know it. Names are powerful. More importantly, the character that we associate with our name affects how we live.
Take a few minutes to listen to the old song, “He Knows My Name” and ask yourself what ideas Jesus would associate with your name. Would he call you conquerer? Would he call you tender? As you ponder this, remember that the voice of Jesus is not one of condemnation, it is a voice of tenderness and invitation. Would he call you protector? What are the good potentials that God sees when he looks at you? Today, choose to live like the name Jesus gives you rather then the condemning name that your inner voice or satan gives you.
By Aaron Bjorklund
