New Name

“But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/isa.43.1.nkjv
Out of the myriads of memories that have filled the entire social media space in the past one week on Billy Graham, the following caption on his final column registered strongly: “I’m sure I’ve failed in many ways, but I take comfort in Christ’s promise of forgiveness, and I take comfort in God’s ability to take even our most imperfect efforts and use them for His glory”. It is the amazing power of redemption, where God takes absolute responsibility for man’s inadequacies, failure, and wretchedness. Even the mildest of sinners are obviously not proud to be called by their inglorious past identity, like thief, cheat, rapist, fraudster, unreliable, dishonest, etc. Instead of all the wasteful struggle to cover up the past, the merciful Lord offers a new name ‘Mine’ without a disclaimer on who we used to be. It is an absolute transfer of responsibility. Irrespective of the disgrace in our past, God’s grace declares ‘But Now...You are Mine’ to all who voluntarily surrender their lives and its liabilities at the cross of Jesus. As soon as the Lord called His redeemed children “Mine”, the unrighteousness of their past gets automatically transferred into God’s redemption account.

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