Father’s name…

Revelation 14:1
I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. (WEB)

I am not a person who feels remotely qualified to explain the Book of Revelation. Much of it is a mystery to me and a book that I will leave to more equipped brothers and sisters in the faith to explain. However, today’s Bible reading caught my eye for a particular reason.

I won’t try to unpack the meaning of the one hundred forty-four thousand people standing with Jesus on Mount Zion. The only detail of this verse that I want to highlight is the fact that each one of them carried the name of Jesus and the name of His Father, written on their foreheads.

A person’s name is very important. It is part of their identity and how people see them. When both the Father and the Son write THEIR name on our foreheads, they are declaring that we belong to God. We carry their identity in our own being. We are still unique in the way that we were created, but now we are joined with Christ who is joined with His Father. As Jesus said in John 17:23… ‘I in them and you in me’.

My prayer today is that we would all know that we have been named by God Himself. We carry His inscription in our hearts for all the spiritual realm to see. We are no longer slaves and orphans trying to find an identity apart from the one that was given to us by our Father and our big brother. May the identity that we have received from God bring us all into a deeper sense of rest and peace knowing that we belong to the most amazing family in the universe.