UMC20250629 - In the Name of¶
We’re in the process of choosing a name for our baby — and it’s a lot harder than I expected. This isn’t naming a character in a game or picking a nickname for a car. This is naming a human being. Their name becomes part of their story — a hope, a calling, an identity.
This journey has made me think more deeply about what it means to carry a name.
We end our prayers with “in Jesus’ name.” Armies once marched in the name of kings and queens. We often do work in our company’s name. To do something “in the name of” means more than just invoking someone — it means acting on their behalf. Representing them. Carrying their weight.
If I told you to serve two years in the army, you’d probably laugh at me. But if I said, “I come in the name of the president,” your response might be very different. Same request. Same person. But the name behind it changes everything.
I am doing a lot of thinking on what it means to live in surrendered service — not something reserved for a moment or a mission trip, but a way of showing up to ordinary life. A posture, not and event. It is a way of living that plans, participates, and works hard — but without the illusion of control. It says: "If I do this in God’s name, with the right heart, then that is all I can control. The outcome belongs to God."
That’s surrendered service. It requires humility. But it is incredibly freeing. I don’t have to carry the whole weight. I just need to show up, in God's name — and trust that God finishes what I start in faith.
What might shift if your next decision, your next conversation, your next act of love — was done in the name of God?
Love, Cliff