Name. Company. Title.
Every time I go to a conference, they hand me a name tag.
A label.
It’s meant to tell people who I am,
But it never tells the whole story.
We are so much more than the labels we wear.
The truth is, we don’t just wear labels.
We are quick to hand them out, too.
We size people up in silent ways.
A glance to see if they belong.
A word that raised your eyebrow.
A sign in your neighbor’s yard.
And before we even think twice,
We grab our Sharpie.
Conservative, Liberal.
Cultured, Crude.
Troublemaker, Passive.
Closed minded, Enlightened
Angry, Apathetic.
One of us, One of them.
We stop seeing the person,
We only see the category.
Their name gets replaced by a position or stance.
Their story gets replaced by a pre-determined narrative.
We stamp worthy or unworthy, and then we move on.
And we miss entirely who they really are.
Because once we label someone, we feel less responsible to understand them.
But God doesn’t play that game.
He doesn’t even look at your resume.
Or your reputation.
Or your record.
Because He already knows you.
And He doesn’t name you based on your worst day.
He calls you… “My Child”.
And if you have children, you understand.
You are not a project.
Not a problem.
Not just potential.
‘That’s My son, that’s My daughter.’
Not once you fix everything.
Not when you finally line up.
But now. Today. As you are.
That’s the label God’s grace gives.
And it’s the only one that matters.
So maybe it’s time to peel off the others.
The ones they gave you.
The ones you gave yourself.
The ones you’ve given to others.
Because once you know who you are,
You’ll never look at anyone the same way again.
And you’ll never be the same again.
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are.”
— 1 John 3:1
If this encouraged you, would you share it with one friend who might need it too?
Subscribe here:
#FirstLightwithNate #MyChild #GraceNotLabels #1John31 #PeelOffTheLabels #FaithAndPolitics #Identity
What a great word, Nathan! If we can remember that God loves us unconditionally because we are His child and doesn’t label us by our triumphs or failures the same way we do our own children. Lord, help us to do the same to others!
This is so true. I can say to my children "you can't judge a book by it's cover", and then I find myself putting people in different boxes before really getting to know the person.