Musings From The Methodist Manse

Try to remember that personal touch

Dear Friends,

I thought this month that I would share with you some thoughts that I came across in the advert for some Bible reading notes.

It was printed under the heading "Called by name", or to put that in my own words, "Do you know that God knows you?"

Isaiah chapter 43 verse 1 says, "I have called you by name, you are mine."

Elaine Brown had moved to a new area and, although she had begun to meet people, she still felt like a stranger.

One morning, at the grocer's, someone called out, "Hello, Elaine!" and she realised that in greeting her by name, her friend had given her a new sense of belonging.

God loves to use our names too.

The Bible is full of the personal touch. "Moses!", "Mary!", "Samuel!"

When Jesus visited Jericho, a little man named Zaccheus was squirreled away in a tree. He was the local tax collector, a cheat and seen as undesirable by his community. He didn't fit and he felt it. He was hurt by the attitudes of others and so couldn't ask for a place in the crowd greeting Jesus. He climbed a tree, just so that he might get a look. Jesus sought him out and called him by his name, "Zaccheus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today."

How he knew Zaccheus' name, we do not know, but the effect of using it was profound. Even Zaccheus mattered.

We feel special when someone remembers our name and, if that person is someone important, then we feel doubly valued.

God always calls us by name. He assures us that we are uniquely important and unconditionally loved. No other person can take our place in God's heart and he longs to know us intimately.

Listen, as God calls you by name and tells you that you matter.

Every Blessing

Revd Jackie Goddard