One Of A Kind

One of a Kind

Read: Revelation 2:17

“I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.”

Revelation 2:17

“Why else were individuals created, but that God, loving all infinitely, should love each differently.”

—C. S. Lewis

IN WORD In our age, it is easier than ever to get lost in the crowd. We are counted as statistics in each census and survey. We are targeted as anonymous consumers by mass marketers. On nearly any city street or crowded interstate, we can feel like an insignificant minnow in the sea of humanity.

When we read Revelation, John’s vision of heaven may offer us no more sense of uniqueness. Great multitudes of angels and humans—more than can be counted—surround God’s throne (Revelation 5:11; 7:9). In our search for significance, we may grow disheartened when we think of heaven’s myriad worshipers.

But Jesus has an encouraging word for us in His message to the church at Pergamum. He will give us a white stone with a new name written on it. Many interpretations of this stone have been proposed, but one thing is clear: If your name is given by Him, it will be unique and special. It will signify your adoption into the family of Jesus, and it will be appropriate to the person you really are. It will indicate what God knows to be true of you, from your strengths and gifts to the problems you’ve overcome. The earthly names our parents gave us may or may not reflect our character; but there will be no inaccuracies in the name He gives us.

IN DEED C. S. Lewis believed our new name may indicate the unique ability we have to worship some particular aspect of God.^a Why not? He is certainly large enough and His glory manifold enough for every one of His billions of creatures to worship a different aspect of His character. We may each worship God for eternity in a way in which no other one of His children can worship Him.

Are you feeling lost in the shuffle of humanity today? Know that God created you uniquely. There will be no long lists of Joneses and Smiths in the kingdom’s phone book. Your white stone will be one of a kind—for His glory.

^a C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (New York: HarperCollins, 1996), 154.