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“I smell a stunk.”

We laughed at our four-year-old granddaughter Brynn’s wrinkled nose as our vehicle filled with a strong odor. She coined the word as an appropriate name for the black-and-white critter and, subsequently, we called it that. I suppose the skunk won’t mind. It is a name, after all, that gives him a certain distinkshun among the animal kingdom. (Yes, I know that’s misspelled.)

I have always longed for a new name. Mine is the name of the housekeeper or old maiden aunt in fiction, not a glamorous heroine. Imagine my delight when I read how God gives us a new name in heaven. I have wondered what mine might be. Will it reflect the calling of God on my life in its different seasons? Daughter, wife, mother. Biblical people often had name changes when God appointed them to a specific service. That’s a scary thought.

Jesus’ disciples rejoiced after returning from their appointed mission, exclaiming how even the demons were subject to them. Jesus, however, directed them to the most crucial cause for rejoicing. Not just their authority over sickness, disease, and evil spirits but their eternal privilege to sit with Him in heaven.

I think back to when I chose to follow Jesus as my Lord. Since that day many years ago, I have probably deserved to be called a stunk at times. How wonderful to know that, unlike that little critter, I will not be known by that name for the rest of eternity.

I can rejoice instead because Jesus knows my name, which God has written in heaven. How about yours?

What does your name say to others?

(Photo courtesy of pixabay and LeniG.)

(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)