I know it is a bit flippant, but every time I listen to the news about Burma I do a double take. Fancy naming a national leader "Fung Shui". Is it supposed to bring positive energy, or whatever fung shui is alleged to do, to the country?
OK, so I know the leader of the military junta is actually called Gen Shwe, but that is not how it sounds when you hear it on the radio.
It set me thinking about how names sound. Mr Shwe's name does not sound good around the world; not because it is confused for some spiritual practice (which I am not advocating by the way), but because he has failed in the first duty of a leader, caring for his people. This is the duty that God places first and foremost upon leaders in any context, and why he refers to himself so frequently as a shepherd.
What does your name sound like? I don't mean literally; when people hear your name, what image does it bring to mind. When God hears your name, what does he think.
More than anything he longs to welcome you home and restore you to the inheritance for which he created you... restore to you your family name.
An ordinary Christian bloke reflecting on the news...