Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. Revelation 2:17
“Who can give a man this, his own name?” George MacDonald
“A man needs to know his name. He needs to know he’s got what it takes. And I don’t mean “know” in the modernistic, rationalistic sense. I don’t mean that the thought has passed through your cerebral cortex and you’ve given it intellectual assent, the way you know about the Battle of Waterloo or the ozone layer—the way most men “know” God or the truths of Christianity. I mean a deep knowing, the kind of knowing that comes when you have been there, entered in, experienced firsthand in an unforgettable way. The way “Adam knew his wife” and she gave birth to a child. Adam didn’t know about Eve; he knew her intimately, through flesh-and-blood experience at a very deep level. There’s knowledge about and knowledge of. When it comes to our question, we need the latter.
In the movie Gladiator, set in the second century A.D., the hero is a warrior from Spain called Maximus. He is the commander of the Roman armies, a general loved by his men and by the aging emperor Marcus Aurelius. The emperor’s foul son Commodus learns of his father’s plan to make Maximus emperor in his place, but before Marcus can pronounce his successor, Commodus strangles his father. He sentences Maximus to immediate execution and his wife and son to crucifixion and burning. Maximus escapes, but too late to save his family. Captured by slave traders, he is sold as a gladiator. That fate is normally a death sentence, but this is Maximus, a valiant fighter. He more than survives; he becomes a champion. Ultimately he is taken to Rome to perform in the Coliseum before the emperor Commodus (who of course believes that Maximus is long dead). After a remarkable display of courage and a stunning upset, the emperor comes down into the arena to meet the valiant gladiator, whose identity remains hidden behind his helmet.
COMMODUS: Your fame is well deserved, Spaniard. I don’t believe there’s ever been a gladiator that matched you … Why doesn’t the hero reveal himself and tell us all your real name? (Maximus is silent.) You do have a name?
MAXIMUS: My name is Gladiat:or. (he turns and walks away.)
COMMODUS: How dare you show your back to me?! Slave! You will remove your helmet and tell me your name.
MAXIMUS: (Slowly, very slowly lifts his helmet and turns to face his enemy) My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius; Commander of the Armies of the North; General of the Felix Legions; loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius; father to a murdered son; husband to a murdered wife; and I will have my vengeance, in this life or in the next.
His answer builds like a mighty wave, swelling in size and strength before it crashes on the shore. Where does a man go to learn an answer like that-to learn his true name, a name that can never be taken from him? That deep heart knowledge comes only through a process of initiation. You have to know where you’ve come from; you have to have faced a series of trials that test you; you have to have taken a journey; and you have to have faced your enemy.”
George MacDonald, Maximus Decimus Meridius, and John Eldredge in Wild at Heart (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2001) 60-62.
“Who can give a man this, his own name?” Every one of us is in a battle and Jesus promises those who overcomes, the one who is victorious some rewards – among them, a new name.
I love the movie Gladiator, so I loved the scene Eldredge recounts. Maximus Decimus Meridius had overcome trials and tests and made it to the Colosseum.
What’s the point today and how does it relate to generosity? I have had the privilege of spending three days with John and Wilma Pickrell. At 87 and 85 they have faced many challenges.
They have trusted God and navigated more battles than they can count. Surely Jesus has a new name for each of them. Only time will tell what those names are and as the Scripture reads, only they will know their new names.
If we give people the truth that rewards await those who overcome, we embolden their courage to press on. And the idea of hidden manna is best understood as getting sustenance only found by standing fast in hard times.
Because we need unspeakable courage in the times in which we find ourselves, Eldredge calls us to initiate young men and women. We did that with our son and daughter. We had a special event when each one turned 13.
For Samuel David, we invited their grandfathers and men in their lives. For Sophie Victoria, we invited their grandmothers and women in their lives. We urged guests to simply bring a verse of Scripture and word of advice on a note card.
Some brought gifts, but the highlight was the sharing from the cards.
I recount this today to challenge parents and grandparents out there to prepare our sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters to stand fast and overcome, and ironically, they will find their names in the process.