Do you know why you have the name you do? Often times names are chosen for their meaning. Other times parents use a name that has been in the family for a long time. Still others choose names for their children that are unique so that they will stand out and be different.

Do you like your name? Many people I have known do not. Sometimes they will choose to go by their middle name, a “nickname,” or just their initials.

Whatever name you go by, God knows it. He knows each of us. And that is a certainty we can have as believers, followers of Jesus.

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1, ESV)

In baptism, you are called by name, and then God puts His name on you, making you part of the family. “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  The One who created you gives you rebirth, assuring you that what Jesus did through His death and resurrection was done for you.

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:3–5)

Joined to Jesus to give you the certainty of forgiveness. God’s name put on you. And He has called you by your name. That’s all good stuff.

I am Jesus’ little lamb,
Ever glad at heart I am;
For my Shepherd gently guides me,
Knows my needs, and well provides me,
Loves me every day the same,
even calls me by my name.