Many people value name recognition. Corporations pay millions of dollars to put their name on sports stadiums. Basketball players “pop” their jersey or point to the last name on the back of their jersey after making a great play. Kings build grand memorials in hopes that generations to come will remember them. Man wants to make a name for himself.
We see this desire of man in the years following the Flood. At that time, the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth all spoke the same language. However, they used this shared language, not to glorify God, but to glorify themselves. “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) They wanted to build a tower to make a name for themselves. Their plans failed when God confused their languages, creating the great number of different languages we have today. That failed building project was called “Babel,” a word related to the Hebrew word meaning to mix, confuse, mingle, because that is what the Lord did to their languages.
Tower of Babel 1679 by Athenasius Kircher
The babble of Babel continues today. Confused man continues to try to make a name for himself. He promotes inventions and technology which he thinks will solve the many woes of the world. Yet, what do we find again and again across the pages of history? Only more failed building projects. Social media was created to bring people together virtually, yet study after study finds people suffering from greater loneliness. Ultrasounds allow us to see a developing baby inside a mother’s womb, yet a majority of people claim what they see on that ultrasound picture is not a person and can be killed if its mother so desires. As man tries to make a name for himself, confusion abounds.
Perhaps this happens with us too. Maybe we do outreach in hopes of making our congregation bigger and, seemingly, more important. Maybe we give offerings and volunteer for projects at church hoping someone will see and praise us for our works. In all this we hope to make a name for ourselves. The confused babble of Babel is seen in our lives too.
This is just another reminder that we have fallen short of the glory of God. While we may want name recognition, the only names we have made for ourselves are “sinner,” “lost,” and “damned.”
How amazing it is, then, to hear that the “name that is above all names,” Jesus Christ, Who Himself is God, “made Himself of no reputation,” and took on the form of a servant. (Philippians 2:7) The only thing He was lifted up on was a cross. This He did to save lost and condemned sinners, just like you.
Now His name is the only name that matters. “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Baptized into His name, all believers in Christ are now named “sons of God” and “heirs according to the promise” of eternal life. (Galatians 3:26, 29)
Rejoice that the Son of God gave you His name and shares with you the glories of eternal life in heaven. In heaven, all confusion ceases. There Christians from all tribes, nations, languages, and tongues cry out with a united voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:10) Let us exalt the name of Jesus—the only name that matters!
is pastor of Berea Lutheran Church in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota.