A new name

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it."'
- Rev 2:17

I want to focus on the latter part of the verse :

"And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it."

A white stone was generally used as a cast of vote to acquit a prisoner from guilt. Hallelujah! How precious is the significance for we who are not condemned but found in the blood of Christ.

The comes the name on the stone. I wonder what the special name will be? It has to be different and personal for each of us, because no one else except God will know. So that probably strikes out some generic identities like "child of God" or "disciple of Christ"

And it has to be new, meaning a previous name or label was given to us. Familiar with some of the careless labels given by our family, teacher - useless, good for nothing, sissy?

Then, I felt something stirring inside, that many are looking for purpose in their lives. Many do not know why they were going through certain situations in their lives. There were pain, joy, success and tragedy along the journey. Every challenges you are going through now, and how you overcome them will contribute to the name on the stone. A unique name. A name that spelled our destiny. A name that reflects the goodness of God. A name that reveals the victory of Christ in us.

Will the name be
"One who despite poverty, became an apostolic entrepenuer"
"One who faced many rejection, but never stopped to declaring my Name"
"One who was abused and hurt, but didn't choose bitterness over My love"
"One who was born with dyslexia but never stopped learning, and became a teacher of men"
"One who lost his husband, but made Me her husband, and brought comfort to others who lost dear ones"

You see if you don't have a challenge, you won't have a story to tell.

What is the purpose of life? Personally for me, I believe it is to turn every challenge to a testimony for Christ.

In the end, how we live here will weave a story that will be read for eternity and a song that will be sung by the angels.

What will your name be? Think about your pain, tragedy or challenges. A new name can emerge from your crisis.