When Jesus described the Good Shepherd he said, “the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” The business of “calling things by name” seems a constant in human nature — even if there is no reason to give them a name. People name their cars. We ascribe personality to the copier (usually malevolent!) On the news the other day they reported that people even name the robots in the factory tightening the bolts on the cars. The Good Shepherd names us so that we will understand our uniqueness as Children of God. We are not saved “en masse,” as a group. God deals with us as individuals, judging us according to our own stories.
