My Name is Written on His Heart

Tim Chester:

Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord.

Exodus 28: 29

Aaron was only ever a shadow of Jesus. As long as Jesus is in heaven, he will bear the names of the sons and daughters of God over his heart as a continuing memorial before God. If you’ve turned to Jesus in faith, he bears your name. Your name is written over his heart. When God looks on Christ, he sees me in Christ. He sees my name, my self, my identity, borne by and wrapped up in Christ. If you’re a Christian, then your name is in heaven. And it’s not on some database or in a filing cabinet. It is tied to a person, to Jesus. Jesus ascended to heaven for your salvation. He is the memorial before God guaranteeing your security in heaven.

Look ahead over the remaining years of your life, however long that might be. You don’t know what problems you may face—financial hardship, mental illness, loneliness, bereavement, sickness. Can you be sure that you’ll stand firm throughout those trials? How might you doubt? How will you sin? How will you cope? You cannot know the answers to these questions. You cannot know how you will respond. But this you can know. Right now, and for ever, Jesus is in heaven and he bears your name.

The hymn A debtor to mercy alone by Augustus Toplady ends with this verse, which captures beautifully the confidence a Christian can enjoy:

My name from the palms of your hands, 

eternity will not erase; 

impressed on your heart it remains 

in marks of indelible grace. 

Yes, I to the end will endure, 

as sure as the promise is given: 

more happy, but not more secure, 

are glorified spirits in heaven.

Christians who have already died are more happy than us because they’re already with Jesus in heaven. But they are not more secure than us. Their future is secure because Jesus is in heaven—and our future is secure because Jesus is in heaven. What’s the secret of surviving for seventy years as a Christian? The answer is Jesus. If you’re a Christian, when Jesus passed through the cloud into heaven, your name was written over his heart. You’re as good as there already. And the only way God can exclude you from heaven is if he excludes his Son.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,

 Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

Hebrews 4: 14