Why The Name?

For me, whether it's naming a kitten, a company, or a blog, the creative process is marked by careful deliberation. The name must capture the essence of what it represents, be easy to say aloud, and ideally have a deeper meaning found in Scripture.

As I often find that others have good insights into who I am, I asked for suggestions on titles for my blog. No prize was offered, but I still got some good feedback. : )

Tablet of my Heart is the one that grew on me the most. It's one I thought of myself, but the idea was sparked by a comment my brother made. (Stick around long enough, and you'll find that the guiding wisdom of said sibling is not an anomaly...) He reminded me how I'd chosen my email address, basing it on one of my favorite verses in Proverbs. So, while the verse at the top comes out of Paul's letter to the Corinthians, the initial inspiration slid in from Proverbs 3:3.

This led me to do a short study on the word "tablet" in the Bible. The majority of times used it refers to the stone tablets given to Moses carrying the divine inscription of the ten commandments. A few times it indicates the inscription of a divine prophecy. When the priest Zachariah tells his relatives of the name given by God for his son, he does so by means of a writing tablet. The remainder of times the word "tablet" is used, it expressly refers to a human heart.

The book of Proverbs urges us to write kindness, truth (in some versions, "love and faithfulness"), and the teaching of wisdom on our hearts. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God promises to remove our "hearts of stone" and give us "hearts of flesh." When explaining the new covenant we have with God through Christ, the writer of Hebrews quotes the prophet Jeremiah:

"And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, 'THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,' He then says, 'AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.' " (Heb. 10:15-17)

In the 2 Corinthians verse I used in the blog's heading, it all pulls together. We ourselves are Christ's letter—a message directly from God. Engraved not on stone hearts, but on human hearts of flesh, also given to us by God. Written by God himself, just like it says in Exodus 32:16: "The tablets were God's work, and the writing was God's writing engraved on the tablets." A message for whom? Verse two tells us the message is for everyone to know and read.

Hold on a sec. Everyone is going to read my heart? Sounds like a lot of pressure....But if we read on through the chapter, we see that by knowing the message doesn't come from ourselves, we can have great liberty, boldness, and confidence through Christ to share that message.

So that's my hope. That as you get to know me by literally, in this case, reading what is on my heart—you might "look intently" at the glory of the One who has written the story of my life, and be transformed through that gaze.