About ten years ago, I came to a point of crisis because of my many different names. Let me explain. Of course, my official name is Robert — that was my grandfather’s name, it’s my dad’s name and it’s mine as well. Accordingly, that’s what’s on my driver’s license and what I get called if I go to the hospital, but that’s about it; it’s a bit formal for everyday use. Since my dad used to be called Bob when he was young, I was nicknamed Bobby, and that was the name I was known by from childhood until I went away to college. I wanted to be called something a little more manly as I walked the halls of higher learning, so at that point, I adopted the name Robbie, which remained my moniker until I met a beautiful girl named Hannah. While she liked me a lot, she happened to have a close cousin named Robbie, and she didn’t want me, her boyfriend, to be confused with him, so we decided on another much less-known abbreviation for Robert, which is Bo. While there really weren’t too many people who called me Bo, and it didn’t last very long, it became yet another item on my list of names. After finishing college and moving back to California, hundreds of friends and family members had only known me as Bobby, and they just couldn’t get used to calling me anything else, so that’s the name I settled on. While I certainly had different identifiers in different seasons of my life, the truth is that what God saw in me and what He said about me never changed. In other words, my various names didn’t altar my identity in Him.

My friend, though your worldly name may shift, your position in the Lord never does! While society is quick to ascribe identifiers based on your age, performance, achievements, race, or even your disability, the Lord sees you through eyes of perfect love, and His vision doesn’t falter. No matter how “messed up” or imperfect you think you are, when your soul finds rest in Jesus Christ, He calls you His beloved and holds you near to His heart. Through every season, He is rooting for you, strengthening you, and anchoring your spirit in His steadfast goodness and unwavering truth. Hold fast to your identity and full acceptance in Him, and He will bless you with an abundant life that bears much fruit.