The Name Game

Like most people, I tend to identify people by their names, faces, and voices. My eyes and my ears gather information and send signals upstream to my brain (which is housed in the knucklehead). Once inside my brain those signals get interpreted, cross-referenced with information in my memory bank, and presto, the recognition arrives that someone is either known or unknown to me. Sounds simple right?

The minnow of a company which has employed me for the last seven years was recently gobbled up by a whale-sized conglomerate. One of the first changes the new management team put into place was to give each of us a new ID badge which, along with each person's picture and name, also displays the company's name and logo. The local office manager dropped in one day to say hi and give me my new badge, but before handing it over she told me that there was a document I needed to sign. I quickly scanned the words on the page and was surprised by what I saw. One of the items read something like this:

You hereby agree that you will not display this identification while off company property.

That statement made me laugh. Do I somehow stop being Steve as soon I walk outside the door? Is my identity stripped away once the badge comes off? What about my last name; does generation upon generation of history and lineage cease to exist because a plastic card no longer hangs from a lanyard around my neck?

Isn't that my identity?

Paul puts that idea to rest this way:

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession — to the praise of his glory. - Ephesians 1:13-14

When we make the decision to accept Christ as Savior, the new person, or new creation that results from that transformation is also given a new identity. While not a physical mark, that Holy Spirit seal that Paul talks about is essentially our new name tag.

Don't get me wrong, that name tag isn't a badge of courage, after all, most of us originally came to Christ for selfish reasons. Oh and one other thing, we shouldn't display our new identity like a like a gold watch or a certificate of appreciation because it isn't a posession or an accomplishment. We should wear it with gratitude, and most of all humility, so that when when someone notices and says, "hey, nice name tag", we can tell them about a Savior who changed our lives forever.

Unfortunately most of us will cover it up once in awhile, or even worse, take it off altogether. Still others will keep it in their back pocket until Sunday morning, when they'll display it with pride, then as soon as they start the drive home the tag gets peeled off and hidden. The challenge for all of us is to leave that name tag on everywhere we go.

So don't take off your name tag. It is after all, your best conversation starter.

Copyright 2008