Reputation vs Name

     I have been in Bible Study Fellowship for decades, and in most of those years there has been a recurring theme that the Holy Spirit patiently hammers into my head until I grasp it.  This year's theme has been the difference between reputation and name.  There is nothing wrong with a Christian trying to maintain a good reputation in his church and community. It is one of the benefits of being obedient to the word. It is one of the things that attracts unbelievers to Christ. But often, in the specific will of Christ, believers are called to take a step of faith that totally trashes their reputation, but establishes their name. 
     One of the examples in our study of Genesis is Noah, 120 years of looking like an idiot, building a giant boat in a land that had never known rain. By the time Noah had, in our vernacular, the last laugh, there were few around to tell "I told you so" to, even if he had the heart to do it. His reputation was trashed, but his name is known by almost everyone in western civilization. His story is one of the most recognized stories in the world.
      I spent the summer studying Ezekiel who, in obedience to God's commands to be a living object lesson to the people, spent most of his ministry giving bad news and living in illogical deprivation. He didn't even make a dent in the idolatry of his contemporaries but, millennia later, the book by his name continues to make an impression in the lives of believers.
     Mary, who had the great privilege of miraculously giving birth to the Messiah, also suffered the lifetime stigma of being considered adulterous by those who didn't believe the miracle. Though she is now revered and even worshiped by many, the lie that Jesus is the product of adultery, lives on. She knew what would happen to her reputation, and Joseph's, when she agreed to cooperate with God. She lay down her reputation and gained a name.
     Of course, the epitome of losing a reputation to gain a name is Jesus. His birth was misunderstood, his teachings were misconstrued, his miracles were maligned, his death with, and as, a criminal destroyed the smattering of good reputation he still retained.  But his name lives on with a power far greater than reputation could ever have. In his name mankind is justified or condemned and to his name all will bow.  Jesus is the master of the universe, the focal point of history, the reward of heaven. I hope I have a good reputation, but if I have to choose one or the other, I choose name.