Have you ever been in a situation where your name is your name but it doesn’t matter to the person you’re speaking to?  It’s hard when you’re trying to convince someone that you are who you say you are, especially over the phone.  This happened to me concerning my website.  It was the fall of 2018 when my website was shut down with the message, “account suspended”.  I had no idea what this meant.  I didn’t know where to start to try and figure it out.  The name of my website is http://www.denisehardy.org so I thought that might be a good place to start.

I called the host of the domain name asking the question of why my account was suspended.  They couldn’t help me.  They asked who I was and I told them I was Denise Hardy, the website owner.  Of course, they were very sorry but I had to call the webhost.  I never knew there were so many hosts!  Another call was made to the webhost.  I explained the situation of how my account was suspended.  The reason given was that there was malware that had attached itself to the account and it was shut down until it was cleared up.  I asked about clearing it up and then they asked me for my pin number.  Then the call got interesting.

“We need your pin number to clean up the malware and get you back up and running.”

“Pin?  What pin?”

“The pin number you used when you set up the website.”

“I didn’t set up my website, someone else did it for me!”

“Well, I’m so sorry but we need the pin to continue.”

“I’m Denise Hardy!”

“Yes, but I need the pin.”

“No, you don’t understand.  I am the website.”

“I appreciate that but I’m sorry, I can’t do anything for you without the pin.”

I was left holding the phone in wonder.  Didn’t this person know who I was?  Didn’t he realize that I wrote everything on that suspended blog?  It was my thoughts and words that filled each page.  Didn’t that mean anything to him?  All of that hard work and yet my name meant nothing.

Now I’ve started over. I have my name back.  I’ve put together a new blog with the same name.  I don’t have a pin but a password that I’ll remember if I ever face “suspension” again.  My goal is to cut and paste the old blogs to my current site.  Then I’ll begin to add new ones.  It is my hope that they will be of help to others and will bring glory to God.

This was a humbling experience for me because my name, my word, or all my work meant nothing.  We put a lot of stock in who we are, our names, and what we have done.  We begin to identify ourselves by these things rather than by Christ.

The only one who will never be suspended is Christ.                                                                            “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 

As Followers of Christ, he is our identity.                                                                                                  “For me to live is Christ” Philippians 1:21a 

We have been given his righteousness.                                                                                                    “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 

This identity in Christ is for all eternity.                                                                                                        “…but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23b

One day, the Book of Life will be opened and my name will be read.  The reason is because God saved me through Christ and gave me a new identity.  My name had no power, no prestige, no sway, no authority, or influence.  It is only there because the Lamb was slain for me.  He knows who I am.  He knows my name.  My eternity will never be suspended because God’s Word is sure and can’t be changed.