Important Names, part 3

I’m learning that moms and dads worry about their kids in different ways.

Here’s what my wife worries about:
- Will they be happy?
- What if something terrible happens to them?
- Are they growing up with good manners?
- Are they well-behaved in school and church?
- Will they always be safe?

Here is what I worry about:
- Will they play basketball, football, soccer, or golf?
- Or will they be four-sport athletes?
- Will they have pretty girlfriends/wives?
- Will they get into fights?
- If so, will they be able to pummel their foes like Muhammad Ali?
- Will they be leaders or followers?
- Will they be cool kids or nerdy kids?

OK. So I’m only half-serious. But just the other day, I did briefly wonder about what Parker will be like in school. He came up to Shanda and said, “Mommy, when you were a little girl in school, did you REALLY like it when the teacher called your name?” Shanda, being an honest person, told Parker that she loved it when teachers would call on her. Parker was glad to hear that. He said he really liked it, too. “It makes me feel happy when she calls my name in class. It makes me feel SMART.”

We ALL like it when other people know our names, don’t we? I stressed over whether my name tag was flipped around at the conference. Muhammad Ali beat a man mercilessly over his name. We all like it when our pastors, teachers, school presidents, community leaders, and cafeteria ladies know our names.

And God knows our names -- a simple truth many of us have known from our early Sunday school days. But let it sink in for a minute again. The Creator of the universe knows ME and He knows YOU and he calls each of us by name (John 10:3).

So it turns out my name is important after all, just not for any of the silly reasons I ever come up with. My name is important because the one with the “Name above all names” knows it. In a sense, we are all the Teacher’s pet.

Now if I can just get my sons work on their cross-over dribbles or their golf swings….