Hello my name is...

Last month, Chelsea and I attended Catalyst Dallas and I had the opportunity to meet one of my favorite author/communicators Andy Stanley. I have read several of his books and watched or listened to numerous messages and talks he has given the past few years. It was a cool moment for me, but also quite humbling. Andy didn't drop a truth grenade on me during our 15 second conversation, but he did do something unintentionally that reminded me of a lesson I'm in constant need of learning: my name doesn't matter as much as I think it does. I walked up, shook his hand, told him my name, he asked if it was spelled with an i or an a, signed my book, and I walked away with the giddyness of a middle school girl. Here is what that moment looked like, you can even see Andy pronouncing my name to make sure he got it right:

It wasn't until later when I opened the book that I realized what Andy had done in that moment:

Who the heck is NOLON? The moment wasn't any less cool, but I have to admit my ego took a little bit of a hit when I read that. The reason why is because I'm often guilty of pride and self promotion. I want to be known. I want to be liked. I want people to know and remember my name, because I often believe so much of my identity is attached to it. I want to leave a legacy and not be forgotten when I'm gone. Isn't that what I'm here for?  Wouldn't God honor that? But then I read Isaiah 42:8, which says: "I am the Lord that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols." 

It turns out my name isn't as important as I thought. I still want to be known and liked, but the glory I often chase after belongs to God. And as it turns out, He's not going to share it with anything less than Himself. Thankfully, I am known - maybe not by Andy Stanley and maybe not by a lot of people but by the one whose name is the Lord. His name is higher. My name is not important. His name is I Am. My name is I Am Not.