Baptism of Christ by Maren Tirabassi

We ARE Better Together…thanks Jack and Friends for the reminder.

New Day’s Lyric

Names for us today have become largely a matter of personal autonomy. People often give their children highly unusual names, occasionally making up new ones; some people change their first name, occasionally as a way to “dress up” an ordinary name. In any case, our names in modern America seem to be a matter of personal property. The biblical notion of names was quite different.

My view from the side pew is that people who try to work out their own salvation either haven’t heard about forgiveness or don’t believe they deserve it. But forgiveness can’t be earned anyway – it’s a gift. And it’s offered to all of us, regardless of merit. That’s some pretty good news.