Naming God

Pastor Duck's Weekly Column

Taiwan Church News 2664, March 23, 2003

Translated  by David Alexander

She named the God who spoke to her El-roi, for she said, "I have seen God and remained alive after seeing him. (Genesis 16:13)

   Old Chiang came to Taiwan in 1949 with the government and army from China.  He came as a soldier and remained one until 1957. After mustering out he went to work for a large construction company.  He tired of that, so used his savings to buy a small piece of land in the mountains of Central Taiwan where he grew mushrooms.  He never married.

   As he grew older, he farmed less and less.  He eventually rented out his land, and continued living in the little house he had built there.  He was acquainted with some of his neighbors, but didn't do much with them.  He never had much of a religion, because the gods worshipped at the nearby temples were not the same ones as he had grown up worshipping in China.

   When an earthquake struck Central Taiwan in 1999, his homemade house was badly damaged.  He was moved to a temporary shelter while repairs were made.  After he returned home, he received regular visits from a social worker who served in a community rebuilding care center.  >From her kindness, her care, and the way she talked about her faith, his heart was moved.  He asked to talk to a church worker, and eventually confessed faith in the God he came to know through the people who had shown him such love.

   But he didn't like the names.  "Spirit" or "Supreme Ruler" (the names for God given in Protestant Christianity among Chinese people) did not express for him the reality of what he encountered.  Like Hagar in the Bible, who named God "El-roi", the God of seeing, he wanted to use a name connected with his own experience.

   So now, when he begins his prayers, he says, "Merciful, delivering, healer of life....

Prayer: Merciful, delivering healer of life, teach us to know you by many names. AMEN