I'm Sorry, But Could You Repeat Your Name Again?

“He who counts the stars and calls them by their names is in no danger of forgetting His own children. He knows your case as thoroughly as if you were the only creature He ever made or the only saint He ever loved.” – C.H. Spurgeon

Every morning around 6:00 AM, an email automatically appears in my inbox. It is from a website named Sports-Reference.com and it publishes an online game called the Immaculate Grid.

Basically, the Immaculate Grid is an online sports trivia contest, and you can pick your favorite sport – baseball, basketball, football, or ice hockey – to test your knowledge of that particular game. The designers of the contest organize the questions into nine categories or grids, and the object is to not only correctly identify a player that fits into that grid but also to pick a player that is so obscure that very few other contestants select him as their answer. The more obscure the player, the lower the rarity… and the person with the lowest total rarity score wins.

Because I grew up reading countless books about old-time ballplayers such as Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson, my answers often reflect those childhood heroes. I have also studied the Negro Leagues extensively, so when that category comes up, I usually do pretty well too.

For me, names like Chief Bender, Old Hoss Radbourn, Addie Joss, and Pud Galvin roll easily off my tongue… as do Negro Leaguers such as Mule Suttles, Turkey Stearnes, Judy Johnson, and Cool Papa Bell. My expertise covers from 1900 to about 1980 – and I do all right from 1981 to around 2000 or so – but I often draw a blank when asked to name some of today’s top players.

Conversely, God doesn’t forget a single name, especially when it comes to His children. I imagine King Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, had a hard time recalling the names of all his kids because he had 88 of them – 28 sons and 60 daughters – with his 18 wives and 60 concubines. Likewise, Valentina Vassilyeva, a Russian woman who lived during the 18th century, could be forgiven if she forgot… or at least mixed up the names… of the 69 children (including 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets) that she gave birth to between 1725 and 1765.

And then there is Genghis Khan, who had more than 500 concubines and as many as 1,000 offspring… so many, in fact, that a 2003 study found his Y-chromosome DNA in 8% of men living in the former Mongol Empire. I can’t imagine what his dinner table must have looked like, let alone his food bill.

My friend, whenever you are feeling unloved, insecure, or insignificant, remember that the God of the universe knows every hair on your head (Luke 12:7). Not only that, but just like He had ancient Israel’s names engraved on the palms of His hands, He has written your name in the Lamb’s Book of Life if you have trusted Jesus as your Savior.

I’ll take that over a perfect score on Immaculate Grid anytime!

“Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.” Isaiah 49:16 (BSB)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President