Called By Name

Isaiah 43.1-7

But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my sight,
and honoured, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you;
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up’,
and to the south, ‘Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the end of the earth—
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.’


Reflection

“I have called you by name, you are mine.”


This is what the God of Israel – our God – says to his people. Each of us has been named, each of us counts. This what quite a claim for the author of what has come to be known as Second Isaiah. After all, these words were written during the time of the Babylonian Exile. At a time when it would have seemed reasonable to think God no longer wanted Israel, the people – and by extension, you and I – are told otherwise. Just when things seem darkest, just when we have lost hope, at the moment we feel most alone, God is claiming his people: Israel, you, me. Powerful.


We as the church can honor God by adopting this assertion as our charge. We can work harder to reach out to those in our community who are alone, who are struggling, who are ill, who may feel set aside or forgotten. In the name of the God who came to us in love, we can call them by name, and remind them that they are his – just as we, too, want to be reminded that we belong to, and are cherished by, the One who made us.

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