Sheikh Hamad, one of the ruling family of the oil rich state of Abu Dhabi has made a name for himself. Literally.
He paid an army of workers to toil for weeks in the sand of an offshore island to carve his name into the earth. The letters are a kilometer high and are visible from space. You can even see them on Google Earth. Genesis 11 v 4 springs to mind: Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower bwith its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
Shelley commented on the hubris of such acts in his famous poem Ozimandias. The Bible says that such acts are not just sad - but will lead to self destruction. Writing our names large, with a building, a company, or like Sheikh Hamad in the sand may make other people notice us. We seek immortality by bigging ourselves up. Paradoxically, this is the route to extinction. Because what matters in the end is whether our names are written, not in history or architecture, but in the Lamb's book of life. If it's not, we are in serious trouble.
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:15
Tim Thornborough is the founder and Publishing Director of The Good Book Company. He is series editor of Explore Bible-reading notes, the author of The Very Best Bible Stories series, and has contributed to many books published by The Good Book Company and others. Tim is married to Kathy, and they have three adult daughters.
