Letters From Grandpa #139

• LETTERS FROM GRANDPA
• 139

Dearest grandchild,

Today’s letter will emphasize the fact that you are important to God. I’m sure you already know this, but that fact is so important that it needs to be emphasized.

Sid Allsbury is a good friend who crosses denominational lines to witness for Christ. Several years ago he visited a church that he considered to be quite liberal. Since the preacher was a good friend he asked Sid before the services if he would lead the congregation in prayer. Sid said “No!”. When the baffled friend wanted to know “why” ? Sid replied: “I don’t want God to know that I am visiting a church like this”. After a good laugh, Sid of course agreed to help his friend in any way he could.

The humor in the story involves the fact that God is Omniscient! He knows everything. Of course God not only knew where Sid was, He even numbered the hairs on his head.. Consider, for example, the omniscience of God as revealed in Ps 147:4: “ He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.” I believe this is literally true. Man, by contrast, really doesn’t even know how many stars there are. Some have “estimated” that our own Milky Way galaxy has 400 billion stars. Further, astronomers “estimate” that there are 170 billions galaxies in the observable universe stretching out 13.8 light-years in all directions. Thus it is “estimated” that there are a septillion stars, and maybe more. I am convinced that knowing the number of stars and calling them each by name is not just a figure of speech. I am convinced that our great Creator God knows everything!

Mankind has only been “into” computers for a relatively short time. Our progress has been so fast that it is said that we can have more computer power in our car than Apollo did when it landed on the moon. Many years ago I visited Cheyenne Mountain where their computer took up a whole room. Today, computers are so sophisticated and available that every auto parts store an track down millions of parts and tell you how many they have and where they are located. You can also contact the Social Security office and their computers can tell you to the exact penny how much you have paid into your Social Security account. As incredible as it sounds, our government has in place stingray surveillance technology that is capable of recording millions of telephone conversations at the same time. If man can develop computers this powerful in such a short time, certainly God knows your name and can keep track of what is going on in your life.

God not only knows the names of the stars in the heavens, he also knows the names of every person on earth. Dale Carnegie, in his classic book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” states that “A person’s name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language”. Nothing could be sweeter than to have the Creator of the Universe call you by name and invite you to become a part of His family.

Our relationship with God is personal! David recognized that God knew all about him even before he was born (Ps. 139:13 - 16). God called Moses by name out of a burning bush (Ex. 3:4).

God called young Samuel by name in the middle of the night (1 Sam. 3:4 - 10). God knew the name of Zachariah the priest (Lk. 1:12) and named John the Baptist before he was born (Lk. 1:13). Jesus, of course, was also named before He was born (Matt. 1:23). When selecting apostles Jesus immediately knew who Simon was and honored him with the new name of Peter (Jn. 1:42) Jesus also knew Nathanael before they met (Jn. 1:47 -52). Jesus saw Zacchaeus in a fig tree and called him by name (Lk. 19:5 - 10). The point is, as we have already said, GOD ALSO KNOWS YOUR NAME. He loves you more than words can convey and is more interested in you than even your closest family members and friends.

There are over 7 billion people on this planet and when God wants something to be done He calls us as individuals to do it. This is precisely what Saul of Tarsus experienced on the Road to Damascus. Jesus called to him “Saul, Saul” (Acts 9:4). Saul fell to the ground and then Jesus told him some specific things to do. Saul understood and obeyed every word. Interestingly, his companions saw the light, and heard something, but didn’t understand one word that Jesus had said (Acts 22:9). This verse from the Bible may explain why. God inspired Jeremiah to write: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13). While all the men with Saul were obviously religious, it seems that only Saul was seeking God with all his heart. If you want to hear God call your name, perhaps you too should seek Him with all your heart.

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce