The Power of Names
What’s in a name? Shakespeare’s Juliet famously opined that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
But names really do mean things. In the ancient world, names revealed character and destiny. Even today, they carry weight, convey identity, and shape expectations in ways we sometimes may not recognize. Think about how differently you feel about a restaurant called “Mom’s Diner” versus one called “The French Laundry.” (Both are real places.)
I chose to create content for the church under the label “Redemptively Speaking” because the name mattered. I wanted something more than just a catchy platform name — I don’t think it’s all that catchy, but it reminds me each time I write what I am trying to do. The name is a deliberate declaration of the lens through which I want to see, interpret, and communicate about the world we live in. Let me explain why this particular lens matters, what it reveals, and how it might change the way we see everything from our daily struggles to our deepest longings.
Everyone Has a Lens
Whether we are aware of it or not, we all interpret the world through a particular lens, a worldview that brings different things in focus in different ways.
- Some people see the world through a materialist lens, arguing it’s nothing more than atoms and economics.
- Others view life through a therapeutic lens; everything is about personal fulfillment and emotional health.
- Many today operate from a power lens—life is fundamentally about who’s winning and who’s losing, who has control.
- Still others see through a nihilistic lens where life is essentially random, meaningless, and we’re just trying to make the best of it.
The question isn’t whether we see through a lens—it’s which one we’ve chosen. Every lens produces ideas, and ideas have consequences. The name of our lens matters because it shapes how we live.
A Redemptive Lens
To speak redemptively means seeing life through the reality of God’s ongoing work to restore His creation. God made a world for humanity to fill: flourishing families, vibrant communities, fulfilling work, just governments, harmony with creation itself, all in joyful obedience to God as King. It’s what Scripture calls shalom. That was the original design.
And then everything shattered.
The Bible doesn’t mince words about what happened next. Sin didn’t just affect individual hearts; it broke the whole system. Relationships, work, justice, even our relationship with creation itself—all of it got twisted in on itself. What was meant to flourish began to wither. What was designed for harmony became discord.
But the stunning truth is from the very beginning, God began to restore what was broken, to make all things new. Redemption is the heartbeat of history, what scholars call the metanarrative, the overarching big story, of Scripture. This isn’t just about individual salvation, though it includes that. It’s the story of God reversing the curse of sin and restoring His image in us. The story of God renewing all creation and breaking His kingdom into every corner of the world.
The Church as Living Proof
This redemptive story isn’t something we just read about—it’s something we’re called to live. The church exists as God’s redeemed image-bearers, called to embody this redemptive reality in the world. Christians are not just people who happen to believe certain things about God. We’re the living evidence that God’s restoration is real and happening now. This means our lives should look different—marked by the kind of love, justice, mercy, and hope that reflects God’s character. Marked by holiness. When we live this way, we become glimpses of what the world looks like when God’s kingdom comes to earth.
Living the Redemptive Story
This is exactly what I’m trying to capture in my writing and speaking. We’re not just waiting for heaven—we’re called to participate in God’s redemptive work right here, right now. Restoration begins with the renewal of God’s image in human hearts. The kingdom of God cannot come fully to God’s world until it has come inside God’s people. When God transforms individuals, they in turn begin to transform the systems and communities they’re part of.
This isn’t just academic theology for me. As a pastor, father, and husband, this lens changes how I respond when my teenager rolls her eyes at me, how I counsel people in crisis, and how I make sense of the evening news. My goal is to help us all develop these redemptive eyes.
An Invitation to See Differently
Redemptively Speaking is my attempt to consistently explore and interpret life through this lens. It’s not always easy—sometimes the world feels more broken than redeemed. But I believe this is the most practical, hope-giving way to navigate reality.
Let’s learn together to see our world, our struggles, and our hopes through the lens of God’s ongoing work to make all things new. Because here’s what I’ve become convinced of: if God really is in the business of redemption, then everything looks different in that light.
