He Knows My Name (Updated 01/03/07)

UPDATE: Regarding the following post, I've received information on the organization who accepts letters on behalf of ill or wounded soldiers at Fort Cambell. Operation Home Front works with other military supporting agencies to review all the letters to ensure their appropriateness and safety. You can send your cards and letters to:

Wounded or Ill Soldier
c/o Operation Home Front
P. O. Box 20295
Clarksville, TN 37042

Thank you, Laura Boyd, for the info!

I was just reading an article on FoxNews.com entitled, “U.S. Refuses ‘Any Wounded Soldier’ Mail.” The title initially aggravated me because I thought it was like the recently reversed decision by NBC not to air a conservative group's television ad thanking U.S. troops. But as I read the article, I began to understand.

Long story short…in the wake of 9/11, the Pentagon and the Postal Service have agreed no longer to deliver cards and letters addressed simply to “Any Wounded Soldier” because of the fear that terrorists or our enemies might seek to inflict further suffering (physical or emotional) by way of toxic substances or disheartening messages. It’s sad, but that’s the world in which we live.

Also sad is that all those acts of kindness by well-intentioned people will never fulfill their purpose. But, once again, that’s the world in which we live.

My mind drifted to Christmas…that first Christmas…when God put on the garment of human flesh and was born as a tiny, helpless baby through the virgin womb of Mary. The angels announced to the shepherds that the good news of His birth was for all people! In fact, Acts 10:36 reminds us that Jesus isn’t just the Lord of Christians—“He is Lord of all.”

But with all our emphasis upon God’s love for everyone, how often do we forget the personal nature of God’s love gift in Jesus’ birth? I love Jesus’ words in John 10 to this effect: “The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out…I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me” (vss. 3, 14). And then there are David’s words in Psalm 139:17-18—“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.” And, of course, Jeremiah 1:5—“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

My point in all this rambling is that when God sent Jesus to be born in Bethlehem, He didn’t address His birth to “Any Wounded Soldier.” Jesus didn’t come to us like junk mail, addressed to “Resident” or “Occupant.” God knew (knows) my name and your name! There’s not a one of us who’s anonymous to God!

This thought is going to make Christmas even more special for me…He knows my name!