Calling the Name

This morning, at the funeral of a friend and coworker's father, I heard the attending minister several times reference the phrase, "We call his name" and it caught my attention.

I'm familiar with the phrase as it refers to calling upon the name of the Lord as when Samuel called "upon the Lord" for thunder and rain (1 Sam 15:17) but I'm not familiar with it in regard to those of us who have gone on to be with the Lord. The "calling" the name of the deceased is something I'd not thought of previously. This idea has had me thinking the rest of the day. Not knowing if this is a phrase particular to the Christian fellowship to which this man was a member, I find it full of interesting thought and wrought with consideration.

The number of our days are known by the Lord before one of them comes into being (Ps. 139:16) and if we live conscienciously, we find ourselves therefore constantly "becoming" more of what God has created us to be. Daily we are part of a community of "becomings" and the degree to which we each "become" is the degree to which the entire community comes closer to God's intended reality.

I never knew the gentleman for whom we gathered to "call his name" today. But though I never knew him personally, I do feel that now, having "called his name," I feel more as though I do know him. As we collectively "called his name," others who did personally know the man stood and testified to his life and his "becoming." He was a God-lover, a humble man of humble means who served God, his fellow man and his church. In his passing, he is honored and revered by those who knew him well.

When the number of our days has come to a close, the one thing that remains is our name. Last night, while catching up on an old rock band I once followed, I "googled" one of the band member's names to see what ever became of him. I found that he died some 10 years ago and left little of a favorable legacy. He suffered from significant addictions that, ultimately, were responsible for his death in the flesh. "Calling on his name" (electronically) produced only a sad commentary on the 80's lifestyle of "sex, drugs and rock and roll."

"Calling the name" is the one thing that will exist far beyond our days. "Calling the name" will be a legacy and testimony to the degree of our becoming. Paul reminds his readers that "at the name of Jesus every knee will bow... and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10-11). There is something inherently powerful in "calling" His name.

We are all becoming, but what will be the word (or the confession), when they "call the name" that we have been given to wear?

When they "call my name" I pray it will look something like Jesus and will be at least something of what God intends me to be, becoming more and more like Jesus.