Why the name?

"You are special!"

How many of us were told this when we were children? I tell my daughter this and try to remind her of this in many different ways.  I want her to know that she is special and that God's creation of her makes her special. I do not want her to settle for mediocrity in how she lives her life now, the decisions she makes in her life, and also those she comes into contact with everyday.  No, I am not telling her she is special because somehow I want her to think that she is somehow above others, but I want her to live her life with self-respect and determination to make her life count for something.  I want her to see that her day-to-day life is something given to her by a loving God who wants her to live everyday as specially given to her to glorify Him.  Here comes the crazy thing: I don't want her to grow up thinking she is a somebody though.  I want her to grow up thinking of herself as "nobody special".

Yes, I understand that we are all special to certain people and make a difference (good or bad) in other people's lives.  I understand from a biblical view of identity that we are all made in God's image and just that view of who I am should make me feel very special.  I thank God that I was created in my mother's womb by a loving God who has chosen to give me 34 (almost 35) years of life.  I know that I am special to my wife, as husband, and to my daughter, as her father. I pray that there are some friends and family that I have made a difference in some aspect of their life.  Hopefully, there are some strangers that I have crossed paths with that I may have smiled at, held a door open for, or even said "Hello" so that in some way that simple act of human decency made their day a little brighter or gave them a reason to think differently about their attitude.  I know that there have been those who have done the same for me.


So why this idea of thinking of myself as "nobody special"?  It has nothing to do about my self-confidence or me having a low self-esteem.  It has everything to do with Who I want people to see in me and through me.  I do not want people to see me with all of my problems, but I do want them to see Christ working through a man that has problems and struggles.  I do not want people to see someone who has it all together in life, but I do want others to see someone who is trying to keep it together only because of Christ in his life.  I do not want others to see someone who is trying to be perfect, but I do want people to see an imperfect man who is honest and understands that each day is given to him to be more like Christ.


At the end of my life, I want people to talk more about Christ than they do about me.  I want conversations to be about how great He is and how through the good and bad times, obedience and faithfulness to Him brings ultimate fulfillment.  I don't want people to even think of me.  I want Jesus to be honored.  I want Him lifted up. I want praises to sung to Him.  Write on my headstone, "Nobody Special.  He loved Jesus."

I'm happy being a nobody for Jesus.