You’ve probably experienced it. Somebody who you’ve met, maybe more than once or twice, doesn’t know your name.
You’ve sat across from them, had a real conversation with them, and you absolutely know their name. And yet, from their end … nothing. I’ve been there, and it’s rough. It feels belittling, humiliating even, to know that this person didn’t seem to value you as much as you valued them (of course, to give them the benefit of the doubt, they could just be really bad with names!).
I’ve also experienced the opposite, where somebody who I’ve only shared a brief encounter with remembers not only my name, but whatever small details might have been communicated in that limited interaction. The effect is drastically different, isn’t it? You feel important, you feel like you matter. You feel drawn to this person knowing that you were not just an anonymous face in the crowd to them.
I was praying with another pastor recently and he said something really striking. He said to God, “Lord, there are seven billion people on this planet. And you know every one of their names.” Let that sink in.
If God is who the bible says He is, He is a personal being who knows every single name of the seven billion people (actually, closer to 7.5 billion) who call this planet home. He knew them from birth. He’s never stumbled or hesitated to speak their name. He’s never mixed them up, not even the Carols, Carolyns, and Carolines. And this God knows your name. He values you, loves you, sees you as an important and crucial part of His creation.
Not only that, but God knows every detail of your life. Jesus said that God knows every sparrow, that not one of them is forgotten by Him, but that “the very hairs of your head are all numbered” because we are worth more to God than sparrows (Luke 12:6-7).
There is a deep human longing to be known and understood, and this longing can only truly be fulfilled by the One who knows all things. As Psalm 139 says, “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me … before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.”
The God of the bible is a relational God who wants relationship with each of these billions of people he deems so important and valuable. He wants relationship so deeply that He would do anything – including dying on a cross – to clear the way for it.
The King of the universe knows your name. He knows your name. He knows you. He loves you. He went to the cross for you. ■
Craig Thiessen is the lead pastor of The Bridge Church, which meets Sundays, 10 a.m., at the BlueShore Centre at CapU. The church hopes to begin construction on a new home at 1384 Deep Cove Rd. within the next year.
