The Number or the Name

In the 2012 film Les Misérables, there is a moment that cuts straight to the soul. Inspector Javert has pursued Jean Valjean for decades, and every time he speaks to him, he calls him by his prison number — 24601. To Javert, that number is all Valjean will ever be. A convict. A thief. Defined permanently by his worst chapter.

But something has happened to Valjean that Javert cannot comprehend. A bishop showed him mercy, handed him silver candlesticks he had stolen, and said, "I have bought your soul for God." From that moment, Valjean refuses to be defined by the number. He tears up his parole papers. He takes a new name. He builds a life of compassion, rescuing the helpless, raising an orphan as his own daughter. His identity is no longer rooted in what he did but in the grace that was spoken over him.

The world works like Javert. It wants to reduce you to your worst failure, your diagnosis, your divorce, your addiction — a number on a file. But the God who calls you by name works differently. Isaiah 43:1 says, "I have called you by name; you are Mine." The Almighty does not define you by what you have done. He defines you by what His Son has done for you.

No one in this room is a number. You are named, known, and claimed by the Most High. That is your identity now.