Daily Encouragementنموونە

What is involved when the risen Christ calls us by name?

It means darkness dispelled, tears dried and death conquered. The initial picture here is of a woman weeping by a tomb in the darkness. All humanity stands exactly there. All was changed when Jesus spoke her name.

It involves a new relationship to God. It is not “according to the flesh” (2 Cor. 5:16, AV). It is a spiritual relationship to God through Christ, characterized by faith, not by sight, in which the ascended Christ brings us to him:

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea;
A great High Priest, whose name is love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.

It sends us on our way with good news about the Lord. Mary Magdalene went to the disciples, saying, “I have seen the Lord” (John 20:18). So we pray:

Tell me Thou art mine, O Saviour,
Grant me an assurance clear;
Banish all my dark misgivings,
Still my doubting, calm my fear.
O, my soul within me yearneth
Now to hear Thy voice divine;
So shall grief be gone forever,
And despair no more be mine.
(William Williams)