Words to Live By

When we chose our son's name, it was for no other reason than we both really liked the name Levi. Although we knew the name was biblical, neither of us looked up any passages that referenced the character. This morning while I was reading I ran across a passage, and it was too neat (to me) not to share with you.

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners - Luke 5:27-32

²⁷ After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸ and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

 ²⁹ Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
 ³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

This past Mother's Day, we stood in front of the church and pledged to raise Levi "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4). That is not something we will take lightly; it wasn't a meaningless routine, it was a very special day and a special pledge. That's why I like this passage, and here is my favorite part:

“Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸ and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

{Mother's Day Dedication}

It is our prayer that this is exactly the heart of our Levi one day. It will be a special passage to read to him, and tell him about his namesake from the Bible and why he is someone to admire. It is our prayer that our Levi shares the same willingness to follow Him. We may not have had a "good" or meaningful reason for choosing Levi's name, but little did we know God would give us one. His plans are always greater than ours.