“Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.” (Genesis 17:4-6)
A large number of people fear COVID because they fear death. Many people are afraid of death. Most put on a brave front and pretend that they are not afraid, that all is fine when it is not. No doubt many are uncertain about what lies beyond death, but many are equally afraid that they will be forgotten once they are gone. That is why they want to do something that is so impressive that their name will be remembered for generations.
Such is the name of Abraham the Patriarch, the founder of the Hebrew race, and our father in faith. He is remembered today not because of what He did but because of his faith in God. Would that we all would have such faith because that is what guarantees us that our name will be remembered for eternity by God and all the members of His Kingdom even though we are unknown in this world and forgotten by all the people in it.
God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, from “father of many” to “father of many nations” as a way of reaffirming His covenant and the promise of many descendants. Sarai is named Sarah, or princess. The meaning did not change but the new name is a sign of a new relationship with God, a blessing about to take place. The son promised to them was about to be conceived. All these promises would be fulfilled by God’s grace, not by Abraham’s efforts or schemes.
In our day many people strive to make a name for themselves, to make their name known, respected and perhaps feared, to have their 15 minutes of fame. This seems to be the motive of some serial killers but it also motivates adrenaline junkies, celebrities, and the movers and shakers. As for the rest of us most want to do something that will make us unique, something for the record or history books. This seems to be a desire intrinsic to our nature. We all want to be remembered, to be known. We do not want to be forgotten in this life or after death. But in God’s economy worldly achievements are not very important. But what is really important is not earthly fame but a heavenly relationship, a relationship with the Lord Jesus. That is something we do not achieve by our efforts but are granted by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus.