"My Name" - Linda K. Milam



Family at our Wedding in FL.



I never thought of it before but when my husband made this statement from the pulpit a couple of times it made me think.  “If you travel anywhere in the world you will find that people KNOW the name of Jesus.”  Some know Him for Who He is, their personal Savior.  Some say He was a great man, a wise man, a foolish man, an honest man.  Some say He was a liar, cheat, thief, beggar, and worse the greatest deceiver ever.  But believe me all know Him.  He is either their God or their worst enemy; but they know Him.  They know Him by His Name!

When people hear your name, how are you known?  Whether Christian or unsaved, your reputation precedes you.  If I say the name of some historic figure in history such as Al Capone, most people know him for what he was.  He has been dead and gone many years, but people know him and his character lives on.  He was no good; a killer, thief, an evil man, a man who terrorized a city and was responsible for the death of many good people.   But what if someone brings your name up in conversation or they see you and your reputation is brought to mind.  What do they think?

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7:1, “A good name is better than precious ointment, . . .”  God obviously wanted us to know that He considers a “good name” to be a good thing.  Once you ruin it, it’s gone.  You and I both know people who have damaged their names by things they have done, said, the way they have acted and they have pretty much destroyed their name.  Their own family will look upon them differently; for every time they see them, or they are brought up in conversation; even if things are made right, they will remember the things they have done.

Family at our Wedding Reception in WV.

I believe in my heart of hearts that my reputation is one of the most valuable things I have.  I am a child of the King, a wife of a Preacher and Missionary, the mother to three beautiful daughters and nine precious grandchildren.  My Character and life are not my own.  I represent these people and this God here on earth, I want a good reputation.

But I have to work every day to maintain that reputation.  How do I want people to think on me?  Is my Character such that even the bad things I have done to tarnish my reputation are remembered no more?  I pray so ~ God can heal anyone and anything, but once you have scars they will be seen; healed, but seen. 

Why these thoughts today – As part of my daily devotions, I have been reading Mrs. Bob Grays’ book called, “The Help Meet” and she talks about having a good name and how vital it is to our character.  And then, just this week I received and passed around one of those emails you get that you are charged to keep passing around, asking what people thought if they hear your name.  Am I a friend? It made me think of my own character ~ we must “Guard our Name” doing all we can to keep it from being damaged. We cannot undo what we have done, but we can become known as the “one who was restored.”  So again I ask, “How is your name.”

Linda K. Milam

Missionary to America