An excerpt from the book, “Known”, by Aubrey Sampson.

Every summer I take my boys fishing.  Well, I should clarify.  I walk them down to the dock, helping them juggle their tackle boxes and fishing rods and life vest so that my dad, Pops can take them fishing.  The day goes a little something like this:  Pops helps them put on and zip up their life jackets.  Pops helps the boys fix any fishing line that’s tangled or needs to be replaced.  Pops supplies and hooks the bait because my boys are two grossed out to pierce slimy worm skin.  Pops kneels (on his bad knees) and wraps his arms around the boys.  Pops shows them how to hold the rod properly.  Pops helps them cast the reel.  Pops models patience, while they get antsy, dyyyiiinnnng for the fish to bite.  Pops offers a little fishing wisdom: “A good fisherman is still; he doesn’t scare the fish away.  A good fisherman is chill, smooth as the water’s glassy surface.  A good fisherman uses his will, to be patient and quiet.  And a good fisherman experiences the thrill of the catch.”

If the fish are biting, and if my boys feel that first tug on the line, I watch and laugh because they inevitably panic and let go, nearly releasing the rod into the lake.  But Pops is nimble, ready to grab the pole and help the boys reel in the fish.  Of course, once the fish is reeled in, the boys are too freaked out to touch the flapping creature, so Pops unhooks it for them and lobs it back into the water with a splash.

When all is said and done.  Pops high-fives the boys and exclaims with grandfatherly pride and affection, “Look at what you did!  You caught a fish!  I am so proud of you!”  Then he names them, “You are such excellent fishermen!”  And though we all know who really caught the fish, whose experience, whose equipment, whose wherewithal, whose skill set, whose patience actually claimed the freshwater prize – throughout the rest of the day,  Pops makes phone calls and goes on social media and tells strangers in the grocery store about what incredible fishermen his grandsons are.  All of it gives them the courage to try again each summer until the day they finally grow into the fishermen he has all alone been preparing them to become.  

God has named you.  You are fully known, exquisitely loved, and securely held in his arms.  He has given you names out of who you are now and for who you are in the process of becoming.  But God doesn’t bring you into this knowledge for knowledges’ sake alone or even for your personal transformation alone.  He doesn’t just give you all the information about your identity, doesn’t just tell you all the truths about yourself so you can sit there quietly and stare out at the water.

We are named to go and live out our names.  We are called to live as “sent ones” on God’s mission into the world.  And the great news is God himself equips us for the task.  It’s God’s arms around us, God’s wisdom guiding us, God’s patience preparing us, and God’s leading that enables us to live on mission for him.

This is who he has all along been preparing us to become.

The names you carry will give you courage to move through the world with clarity and purpose for God’s name and Kingdom.  God has a lot to say about who you are and whose you are.  Your next step?  To let it change everything, in how you live and what you do.  You are invited to participate in God’s work in the world.  You have been named to go share the name of Jesus.