Rahab 

Let me introduce myself.

Some people call me Anitha, others call me Anu.  To my husband, I am babe and some friends call me Ma.

No matter how they are created, nicknames stick.

In the Bible, we encounter a character who understood this better than most.  Her name was Rahab, the harlot.  

We are first introduced to her in Joshua 2 and the author wastes no time in telling us her current occupation. In an interesting twist of fate, she ends up helping the Israelites conquer her city, Jericho.  She hid the Israelite spies, sent the king’s guards on a wild goose chase and then helped the spies escape.

A person like that can really make a name for themselves, which Rahab did.  Unfortunately, her old label was attached to it.

When Joshua gives the command to destroy Jericho, he states except for “Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house…” .  In the New Testament, she is cited as an example of faith, right along with Abraham.  However, her faith isn’t the only thing we are reminded of.  She is again referred to as “the prostitute”.  

Thankfully, her old label didn’t tell the whole story.

This same woman, Rahab, is part of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, our Savior and King.

Talk about a comeback.

We may feel the weight of mistakes and misunderstandings on us like a scarlet letter. People may still feel the need to refer to that time of our lives and that’s fine.  It is a part of our story but not all of it.  Our story is still being written by an Author who is the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, the God who knows our days and loves us through it all.

Don’t let a man-made label determine the course of your life.  Those labels are formed by fickle people and are fleeting.  One minute they love you, the next minute, not so much. Maybe you’ve experienced that...I know I have and you know what? Jesus did too.

It is God who ultimately defines us. We have never done too much that we can’t be used by Him. Many stories in scripture prove that...and Rahab, the harlot, proved it too.  

~ Anu