Determined Protector

In between my seventh and eighth grade school years, as part of a program called People to People, I traveled to the United Kingdom with approximately 3o other junior high students as a ”Student Ambassador”. Since this trip took place almost ten years ago, I remember little about the trip.

I remember some of the historic venues and artifacts that we got to see in London, Dublin, and Edinburgh, among the list. I remember one day in Ireland we went to some kind of outdoor sports park. It was supposed to be a fun time of games and the like, but all I remember is wearing only a t-shirt and basically freezing to death. I also generally remember the two host families I stayed with, one in Ireland, one in England.

I look back on this for two reasons. First, as the Chinese Exchange students finish their adventure in San Diego I realized something I remember from my trip with People to People. These Chinese students are apathetic, at best, to their surroundings. Being in a new country and new world (for all intents and purposes) does not seem to excite them. All they care about is their iTouch games.

This proves, if nothing else does, just how much people from every nation and tongue are similar. American kids couldn’t even get excited about visiting a place in which their relatives and friends likely had strong ties. It should come as no surprise then that Chinese students wouldn’t be too excited about visiting a place that is so tremendously different.

The heart likes the familiar. It likes to feel at home.

When we realize this is the nature of our hearts, we notice quite a dichotomy. The heart searches for home, which most Christians will say is to be in the presence of God and that this is what everyone is ultimately looking for.

Yet everyone looks towards one idol or the other to be that home. In these kids’ case it seems to be these iPod Touch gadgets. For others it’s video games. Others still end up migrating toward and hanging onto drugs or alcohol.

And that leads me to my larger point. On that trip to the United Kingdom ten years ago, there is one more event that I don’t even really remember, but I maintain a piece of evidence to remind me of the entire trip. I have an orange coffee cup with the name William on it. But it doesn’t only say my name. It includes the origin of the name and definition of the name. It says this:

William- an Old German name brought to Britain by the Normans- its meaning is ‘Determined Protector’- so your goods are safe with me!!

It makes me chuckle when it says “your goods are safe with me”, but that is not what stands out to me. What stands out is ‘Determined Protector’. Kind of like Emanuel means “God with us”, William is the identity of yours truly and ‘”Determined Protector” is what that means.

The importance of this is seen when we view Jesus. His name meant “God with us”. So he came to earth to be “God with us”. And God with us died and rose so that others could walk in the path God had set out for each individual person.

Jeremiah 1:5 says “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” In other words, God has a plan for each person. For Jeremiah it was to be a prophet. For me it is to be a determined protector.

But what does it mean to be a determined protector?

I think for me it means to watch out and protect God’s people. It means to shephard them and look out for their souls. It means to protect God’s people from the evil of this world. I must speak truth to God’s people to ensure they avoid the temptations of this world and treasure the one who is their Savior.

And it means calling God’s elect out of darkness into light so that they too may walk in the path God set before them prior to their entering the womb. It means to protect people from apathy. I have almost decided on my own that if I ever have children, they will not watch t.v., unless it is sports or another show I approve, movies (the same), or even read books unless I know what they are reading and can trust the given author.

When we allow our children and friends to be exposed to the paganism of this world, we are not protecting them, we are instead giving the Devil free reign to work in them. Therefore we must expose them to the gospel at the earliest age possible, and show them the gospel, and tell them the gospel, and show them the gospel, and…you get the point. And we must do this with the spiritual babies that God saves in our realm. We must protect them from the attacks of Satan, since God only knows if that person is among the elect.

With the name William, God has called me to live a life determined to protect and encourage God’s people. Who knew I would have to go to the United Kingdom to find out this would be my path?