Labeled

22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

24 The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

27 “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

(Numbers 6)

Labels.  What would we do without them.  Adolescents have to have that name on their clothing.  We depend on them to tell us what is really inside that great-tasting dessert. We give them to people, often undeservedly.  But when God labels His people, that is an awesome privilege. Many of us grew up hearing this blessing or benediction at the end of a service - either spoken or sung, but never really think about what it means. God is labeling His people as His own. What does that mean? His blessing, His approval, His smile is based more upon what He is doing in us, than what we are doing for Him.  His label gives us that sense of belonging, purpose and contentment we can find nowhere else.