As someone who attends a lot of conferences, I’m well-versed in the varieties of name badges.
From plain white stickers, to lanyards with an attached plastic sleeve, I’ve worn them all. Have you ever tried to get the white residue from a sticker off a “dry-clean only” black blazer? Yeah, not fun. And I’ve totally done the discreet “neck crane, glance-out-the-corner-of-my-eye” name tag double-check to see if so-and-so is who I think they are, in an attempt to spare myself an awkward situation. Please tell me I’m not the only one!
The one thing all name tags have in common is that they identify us. Label us, quite literally. When we take them off at the end of an event, that label goes away, but who we are remains.
But what about the labels we place on ourselves? The ones we allow to define us? These are far more indelible than a sticker.
Labels like: worthless, inadequate, stupid, failure. Or name tags like: you’re only worthy if…you never slip up, always keep your cool, go above and beyond, never make a mistake.
Maybe we’re not the one who first slapped this label on us. Maybe it was a spouse, a teacher, or a co-worker. A casual comment that cut bone-deep. Branding us more surely than if we were seared by fire.
I’ve known the pain of carrying such labels, and I’m sure you have too. They’re far heavier than a lanyard and far harder to remove than the stickiest of stickers. Sometimes the weight chokes our hearts and steals our breath to the point of crushing us.
But there’s Someone else Who labels us, starting from the moment the foundations of the world began, to the day He sent His Son to shed His lifeblood on the cross, to today.
And He says we are…
Loved: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1)
Victorious: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)
Wonderfully Made: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” (Psalm 139:13-14)
Strong and brave: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Rejoiced Over: “The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)
His: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” (Isaiah 43:1-2)
These, and many more promises, are the labels our Heavenly Father invites us to wear. He never intended us to live in bondage to feelings of worthlessness, or to the opinions of people who tear us down. His desire is for us to live and walk in victory–not because our external circumstances are always victorious, but because we’re children of the Most High King.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor who was murdered by the Nazis, wrote these poignant stanzas while he was imprisoned during WWII.
Who am I? This or the other?
Am I one person to-day and to-morrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
And before myself a contemptible woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me like a beaten army
Fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?
Who am I? They mock me, these lonely question of mine,
Whoever I am, Thou Knowest, O God, I am thine.
Today, may we walk in the truth that the King of the world calls us His.
About the Author: Amanda Barratt is the ECPA best-selling author of several novels and novellas, including My Dearest Dietrich: A Novel of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Lost Love. Connect with her at www.facebook.com/amandabarrattauthor and visit her online at www.amandabarratt.net.
