In Romans 16, Paul is greeting his partners in ministry by name. We hear about Phoebe, Priscilla, and Aquila, three women Paul has worked alongside in ministry. We hear about Andronicus and Junia, two people with whom Paul was imprisoned. We hear about them and so many others whom Paul is “shouting out” by name.

There is something special when you are known by name …

Has there ever been a time when someone you admired from afar called you by name? Where you stopped in your tracks, thinking, “They know my name?!” 🤯 In my workout classes, when the instructor calls out my name, I get a surge of energy. I feel encouraged. I push myself harder. I feel seen, and I feel known. They know me by name.

Paul is one of the greatest evangelists of all time. He was well known and admired by many. If I were Phoebe or Junia and called out by name in a letter by Paul, I would have been stopped in my tracks, amazed he remembered my name.

When you are called by name, it changes things. When I am called out in my workout classes, my mood changes, and the amount of effort I exert changes. When people are known and seen, things change.

We as humans crave to be known and seen, and in a world of so many names and faces and other things going on, it is easy to feel the opposite. It is easy to walk through the aisles of grocery stores and the halls of school and feel totally and utterly alone.

It is in these moments of loneliness that we can be reminded of Isaiah 43:1: But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.”

The God of the universe knows YOU by name.

You have a God who created you. He knows the number of hairs on your head and what you have done and all you are going to do, and he still calls you by name. He still chooses you.

You are fully known and fully seen by a God who loves you and calls you by name.

Reflection:

  • How does it make you feel to hear that God fully knows you and still chooses you?
  • Do you know who God says you are? Take three minutes to read Psalm 139 and Ephesians 2:10. This is who God says you are!
  • How can you live differently knowing you are fully known and fully loved by your creator?