“The Uniqueness of You” by Mark McGee
There is in our massive universe a small galaxy, and in that small galaxy there is a small solar system, and in that small solar system there is a small planet known as Earth. Earth plays host to almost eight-billion human inhabitants of which you are one.¹
Do those facts make you feel a bit small and insignificant?
If not, how about this?
The number of human beings who have been born since the beginning of time is estimated to be more than 100-billion.² How does that make you feel about yourself? Sad? Indifferent? Joyful? I think it depends on your worldview.
If you view the world as being a random cosmic accident with no purpose or meaning (naturalism), then you might feel sad since you would have no purpose or meaning outside of what you make up about yourself. No one else would have a purpose either because there is no purpose or meaning in that worldview.
If you view the world as being created by a supernatural being who abandoned creation to fend for itself (deism), then you might feel indifferent. Why should you care if the designer doesn’t? No one else would probably care either in that kind of world.
However …
If you view the world as being designed with a wonderful purpose and deep meaning by a loving and gracious God who sees you as important and vital to His plan, then you should be filled with joy!
You Are Unique
You are a unique, unrepeatable miracle of God!
Let me repeat that.
You are a unique, unrepeatable miracle of God!
There is no one like you and there has never been anyone like you. Out of the almost eight-billion people alive today, the more than 100-billion people who have been born since the beginning of time and the people yet to be born, you are still a ‘one-of-a-kind’ human being. There’s no one like you and there never will be anyone exactly like you.
Is that just wishful thinking on my part or does that statement have any basis in fact?
Thanks to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) we know a lot about why people are different. Your ‘genetics’ are unique to you. Even identical twins, who share the same genetic code, are not ‘exactly’ the same. Scientists have known for some time that identical twins can have ‘genetic variations’ that affect their fingerprints and even affect their risk for different diseases.³ Even if you have an identical twin, you are still a unique, unrepeatable miracle of God. There is no one like you.
Your Uniqueness In Heaven
So, what does that say about your future in Heaven? Even though you are unique on Earth, will you have any uniqueness in Heaven? I believe you will and here’s why.
I never knew anyone with my name (first and last) until I logged into the Internet for the first time 25 years ago. I found two other people with my same first and last name. Today, I can find hundreds of people on the Internet with my name. I could say, ‘oh, well, so much for having a unique name and identity.” But then I read this –
“And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”
REVELATION 2:17B
This is one of the promises Jesus Christ made to the seven churches in Revelation. After Jesus spoke stridently to the church in Pergamos, He said –
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”
REVELATION 2:17
The promise is in the context of those who overcome. Remember what the Lord told His disciples the night before He was crucified? “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Because Jesus overcame the world, so can we –
- “I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one.” 1 John 2:13
- “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
- “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:4-5
Are you an overcomer? If so, you can receive the Lord’s promise of a “white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.“
Why a ‘white stone’? While there are several possibilities, I think the best answer may be that in ancient times a winning athlete received a white stone with his name on it. The athlete would use the stone for admittance to the winners’ celebration. My guess is that Christians from the 1st and 2nd centuries who read Revelation knew what it meant and would have understood its importance in light of the promise Jesus made to them. Jesus promised them entrance to the celebration He will throw for all of His children.
However you view your identity here on earth, know that in Heaven every disciple of Jesus Christ will receive admittance to the great celebration dinner along with a new name only they will know.
Even as Christians receive a special white stone with a new name on it, Jesus said He would write on them “My new name” (Revelation 3:12). How amazing is that! Jesus will know us by our new name and we will know Him by His new name. We cry out together “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”
Why Tell Us Now?
Why do you think Jesus told Christians more than 19 centuries ago about the ‘new name’ they’ll receive in Heaven? Why not wait until we get to Heaven and surprise us?
I think it’s because our Lord wants that fact to impact how we serve Him in this pre-Heaven part of our life. God created us to both serve Him and reign with Him. We are co-heirs with Christ and receiving both His new name and our new name will be part of our ruling with Him. If that is our future, why live in a way now that is different than what will come? The apostles have reminded us many times that we should “walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:12).
Think about your own children. Why do you make promises to them? Because you love them? Yes. Because you want what’s best for them? Yes. Because you want them to know how you expect them to live? Yes. Letting your children know about promises in advance can act as a positive motivation toward their experiencing a richer and fuller life.
I believe it is the same way with Jesus Christ. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. How then should we conduct ourselves in this life if we will rule with Him in the next? Jesus wants His children to be unified and mature and to build up each other in love (Ephesians 4:11-16).
Jesus Christ has a new name for you – one you will carry throughout eternity. You are the only one who will have and know that name. While we will all have our Lord’s new name written on us as we serve Him in Heaven, each of us will continue to be a unique, unrepeatable miracle of our loving God.
Now that just makes me smile. : )
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Written by Mark McGee ~
Mark McGee is a former atheist and career journalist. He worked on the news staff of several radio and television stations (including Huntsville’s WAAY-TV) and two metropolitan newspapers over a period of 40 years.
Mark has written three published books and more than 280 Ebooks. He also writes regularly for several Christian blogs and serves with Ratio Christi Campus Apologetics Alliance and Engage360 Ministries.
Mark has been active in martial arts and self-defense training for almost 60 years and has been teaching from a Christian perspective for almost 50. He is an instructor with Christian Soldiers Karate at Whitesburg Baptist Church and also teaches privately.
Leave a Reply