His name

Caleb Lamont

"Caleb \c(a)-leb\ pronounced KAY-leb. It is of Hebrew origin and the meaning of Caleb is "faith, devotion, wholehearted."

If you asked me a month ago if we would name our son Caleb, I probably would have told you not likely. I've always liked the name and it was on The Very Long List but it wasn't a top contender.

But as these last few weeks went by introducing even more scary risks for a high-fluid delivery, I started reading Numbers 13 and 14 and Isaiah 43 daily to remind myself of God's never-ending faithfulness.

And then I just fell in love with the idea of claiming a name that reflects His promise to always remain faithful.

In Numbers, God has already rescued His people, the Israelites, from Egyptian slavery and is leading them to a wonderful new land. He promised they would live there. It was already theirs; they just had to reach it. When they were close, God asks Moses to send 12 leaders to scout out the new land. He reiterates it's just to explore.

"The LORD said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites."
13: 1- 2 

The 12 men leave to explore and came back with their reports. Ten men only focus on the negative.

"They gave Moses this account: 'We went into the land to which you sent us...the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large...we can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.'”
13: 27, 28, 31

Undaunted, faithful and wholeheartedly trusting in God, Caleb speaks up. Even though he saw the same scary people. Even though he is speaking against the majority.

"Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, 'We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.'"

13: 30

But the Israelites freak out. They only think about the scariness of entering this land, the place God promised. They chose fear over God's promise.

Caleb and Joshua do not. They totally and completely believe God when He says they can do it, even if God's promise contradicts what they saw with their own eyes.

The freaked-out Israelites spend the night weeping in fear so the next day, Caleb and Joshua speak up again. And their words are strong.

"Do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them."

14:9

But the Israelites still don't trust God's word of promise and now they want to actually kill Caleb and Joshua for not reacting just like them. At this point, God is angry.

"The LORD said to Moses, 'How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?'"

14:11

He has already displayed His power and strength but only two people believe His words when faced with overwhelming odds. 

The result? God forgives the people because of His great love but there is a consequence: none of these people will enter the promised land. Not one. Their kids will get to live in this amazing place but their parents won't because of their unfaithfulness and choosing to not trust God. 

BUT, Caleb and Joshua will. Because of their faithfulness and trust when staring at an overwhelming, scary situation, God has enormous blessings for them and their families.

"But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it."

14:24

Every night, I finish my bedtime prayer with Madeline with "Help us love you more and more every day." 

Now I get to pray this over and with Caleb. "Lord, help him and me love you more and more every day." If I had to summarize my prayer with one word, it would be "wholehearted." 

Caleb, the wholehearted.

Oh, Jesus, may he follow you wholeheartedly.

The middle name. Lamont is for Joe's dad and his grandpa who passed away this spring.

His dad passed away 12 years ago when Joe was 16. I never knew him but many members of my family did. And whenever someone talks about his dad, they always sincerely describe him the exact same way, "He was the kindest man you would ever meet." 

I would never want to rewrite my relationship with Joe but if given the choice, I would have loved to have met him earlier, just so I could have known his dad. Now I would also love for Madeline and Caleb to know him.

The Lamonts who are now with Jesus were men who loved God and loved everyone around them. They were men of prayer. They were men who didn't care what other people thought of them; they just followed God. They were a lot like Caleb of the Bible.

So my itty-bitty Caleb Lamont, there's a whole lot of special meaning packed into the 11 letters of your name. Your daddy and I will pray every day in faith that you will live out your name.

We pray you will faithfully follow Jesus with your whole heart because He is the only One who loves you more than we do.