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“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers…I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.” Revelation 2:17  (CSB)

A new name. The first thing parents do when a child is born (and sometimes before) is name the baby, giving him an identity. After that, whenever that name is spoken in the family’s circle of friends, an image of the child’s face forms in their minds. They know who he is by his name.

When I meet someone, I first want to know their name and tell them mine. If someone uses my name when they talk to me, I feel connected, knowing I matter to them enough that they remember me. Using a name is a step toward forming a friendship, a form of intimacy humans crave.

In the Book of Revelation, Jesus sends messages to each of the seven churches in Asia. Each message tells the church what they are doing right, where they are missing the mark, and what will be the reward for the person who perseveres to the end. There are many rewards listed, each one amazing, but I want to talk about two specific rewards involving names:

Revelation 2:17 says that those who conquer will be given a white stone with their new name inscribed on it, a name no one will know except the person receiving it. What a form of intimacy with our Lord! My husband gave me a ring with a white stone when we married, and I expect I’ll receive the promised white stone when I meet Jesus. Only this symbol of intimacy will be even more wondrous – Jesus will give me a new name inscribed on the stone that only He and I will know. I wonder if it will be given to each of us as jewelry to wear with our new white clothes. Or will it be a stone we keep hidden away in a special spot where we meet with our Lord? However we receive it, I can’t imagine a more personal reward than a name that only Jesus and I know.

The second one is in Revelation 3:12: For the one who perseveres, “I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God – the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God – and my new name.” There’s that tattoo. He will write on His children the name of God, the name of His city, and Jesus’ new name. I have allowed myself to wonder how that inscription will appear, if perhaps it will be on our foreheads or arms where everyone can see it, maybe shimmering in a graceful, flowing font. In my flights of imagination, I see people who have been friends on earth, meeting again for the first time in heaven, saying, “You were a good-looking person on earth, but with that tattoo, you look more beautiful and complete!”

According to God’s great wisdom, we cannot know in advance. All we can do is live lives of worship and obedience, enjoying the anticipation of one day being in the presence of Jesus. There we will enter into the kind of intimacy we can never know on earth.

“Heavenly Father, we thank you for the brief glimpses You have given of what heaven will be like. We ask for the strength to persevere to the end, living lives worthy of the new names You will give us when we meet You face to face.”

For His Glory

Cherie Williams (cherieharbridgewilliams.com)
TRBC Women’s Life