the power of our name

lately i have been thinking about the transforming power of our name. as desperate seekers who hunger for love and significance, is so easy to get caught up in the mascaraed of culture - dressing ourselves in the masks given to us by our jury of peers. we tear our way to the top of the crumbling and falsely satisfying identity hierarchy of society. all the while stepping on the faces of strangers and those that we love to claim our power as the king or queen of the hill. the temptation to seek our worth, identity, and value as people from the voices of those around us pounds on the door to our heart. and more often than not we open to them, rather than the gentle knock of our creator.

we are starved for a name really. in scripture there are handfuls of accounts where god gives name to his faithful followers. from abram to abraham. from saul to paul. i am unfailingly touched by the beautiful poetry of the song of solomon. what continues to grip my soul is how intentional the bridegroom jesus is about calling his beloved by name. with each beckoning of obedience, or affirmation of praise, the beidegroom begins by addressing his bride's identity. always does he say, "my beloved", "my beautiful one". it is as though he knows full well of our need to be called by name.

i just recently watched the film "blood diamond". it took me a while before i actually decided to check it out. in my apparently false presumptions, i thought it would be nothing more than a cheap hollywood rendition of the reality of our world's brutality. but in fact it was a brilliantly crafted piece of work.

there is a scene in this film that sheds light upon dark, hidden pockets of the human heart. in it we find solomon speaking truth directly into the soul of his broken, brainwashed, and deeply wounded son. solomon calls forth the his son dia to once again receive his place in the family. it is a display of the transfiguration that takes place when we are called by name from our father.

"look at me". solomon says, focusing his gaze upon the face of his son. "you are dia vandy... i am your father, who loves you. you will come home with me and be my son again".