Moment of Meditation: Name for Ourselves (Genesis 11:4)

Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:4   Names are important. They allow differentiation between things. You know the difference between an apple and an orange simply by their names. As human beings, we want to distinguish ourselves from everyone else. But we often seek to do it in sinful ways. The tower builders wanted to enclose humanity. Exactly the opposite of what God had commanded Noah and his children: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1). In the same way, Christians are called not to seek their own name but the name of Jesus. We gather in congregations so that we may grow in our faith. However, we are not to enclose our faith within the four walls of our church buildings. We are called for our congregations to radiate our faith into the world around us. We celebrate Easter this month. The news of Christ’s resurrection did not stay in Jerusalem. It did not stay with the Twelve Apostles. It has gone out into all the world so that everyone may know the one name under Heaven by which we must be saved. Amen.