“If we aren’t careful, we can read right over the responsibility given to us to name things. It was our very first job, after gardening, and this is the first mention. God is inviting us into His world, quite literally. . . . . In Judaism, naming is a sacred responsibility. Just as God put His name on us, we put names on the rest of creation . . . . You name it — we name it.”- Mark Batterson
“The LORD God had formed out of the dust of the ground all the wild animals, and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.”- Genesis 2:19 (NIV)
Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 8 of A Million Little Miracles as he related one of his favorite moments in all of Scripture. The Genesis moment when Adam named all the animals. As Sir Francis Bacon once noted, the earth is God’s playground, we are God’s playfellows.
In addition, Mark tells us one of his favorite animal names: Wunderpus photogenicus. The first word means ‘miracle’ in German. And the second word testifies to the unique pattern of each octopus, which functions like a fingerprint. Above all, that pattern becomes more and more elaborate as the octopus ages.
Therefore, Pastor Batterson underscores:
“Naming is a privilege and it has prophetic power. Names have the power to unlock our true identity, our true destiny. But there is one thing God reserves the right to name. You!
Your true name won’t be revealed until you cross the spacetime continuum and enter a dimension called heaven. That is when God will present you with a white stone that has your name on it. . . .
When we hear that name for the first time, it will make perfect sense. What will? Everything. Ah, that’s who I am. Makes sense now. . . . We’ll finally see as we are seen!”
Today’s question: How do you see God inviting us into His world? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Wonder switch in the off position”