My husband raised our daughters to be proud to be a Stewart. He taught them to be proud of their Scottish heritage and of the clan they came from. However, when each one of them got married they gave up the last name they were raised with and chose to take on the surname of their husband.
This week I sat on the balcony of the little apartment we were staying in on our vacation, sipping my morning coffee and having my devotions. As I read Hebrews 11:16 in the Amplified Bible, I was blown away. The God of the Universe chose to add a surname to His all encompassing name, I AM. He chose to add I AM the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This verse also declares that God is not ashamed to be called their God. If you have the time, go back and read the accounts of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob recorded in the book of Genesis. These were definitely not flawless men. Abraham had a lying problem which he seems to have passed down to his son and grandson. Jacob became quite skilled in the art of deception. Yet, God loved them and chose them and was not ashamed to proclaim to all that He was their God.
Galatians 3:29 states that, "if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." That means if you have received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, then you are included in God's surname too. He is, I AM the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Elizabeth and Debbie and Jennifer and Susan and you! Just like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, you and I are certainly not flawless either. But, just like them, God loves us, has chosen us, and is not ashamed to proclaim that we are His. Now, that's something to be thankful for!
still following,
What a fine thought! And thankful, I am, God loves us so much and will forgive so much just so that we stay His. I am so very grateful. Elizabeth, thank you for sharing this as I missed it in my readings over these 23+ years of knowing the Lord. When I remarried 23 years ago, I had my maiden name back again after a divorce. I seemed afraid to lose it again and was rather fearful that this marriage would not work as the first (although this precious new husband is God's gift to me). So I kept my maiden name and added his to mine, using them both. Over the years, my maiden name has become my middle name and I carry his surname as mine. But it was a struggle at first, and then became a joke...that I had so many ways of writing, registering just who I was. Now I know Whose I am and who I am married to because God created this marriage in heaven and wraps his arms around us here on earth. Thus, I now know that I carry His surname too. Thanks you.
ReplyDeleteThis is beautifully said, Linda!
DeleteWonderfully written, Elizabeth! God is not ashamed to be called our God ~ His love and mercy to each one of us becomes to tangible!
ReplyDeleteThat perfectly holy Creator God loves us so is mind boggling!
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