Bearing God’s Name: Reflections on Amy Grant’s Every Heartbeat
Name this tune:
Every heartbeat bears your name, loud and clear, they stake my claim. My red blood runs true blue, every heartbeat belongs to you.
That’s right—it’s Amy Grant’s Every Heartbeat, a 90s hit from the queen of CCM herself.
Now, if I’m being honest, I hadn’t really put much thought into the theology of this song before. I mean, did it even have theology? But recently, as I was reading a book by Dr. Carmen Joy Imes called Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters, I started to see the song in a whole new light.
What Does It Mean to Bear God’s Name?
The chorus of Amy Grant’s song begins with the line, “Every heartbeat bears your name.” That got me thinking—what does it really mean to bear God’s name? Surprisingly, this idea is deeply rooted in one of the Ten Commandments.
You know the one: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” Growing up, I always thought this commandment was about not using God’s name as a curse word or expletive. It was the “cuss word commandment,” plain and simple.
But digging into Dr. Imes’s work, I learned that the original Hebrew offers a much deeper understanding. The verse could be more accurately translated as, “Do not bear or carry the name of Yahweh your God in vain.” This expands the meaning far beyond just our words—it encompasses who we are, what we do, and even the intentions of our hearts.
A Life of Name-Bearing
When God gave this commandment, it wasn’t just about speech. It was about all of life. At Sinai, God chose Israel from among the nations to be his people and to bear his name. They were to represent him to the world by loving him and loving others. In fact, the rest of the commandments show what faithfulness in name-bearing looks like.
But Israel failed in this task. And let’s be honest—we all have.
Here’s the good news: Jesus, born from the people of Israel, came in the name of the Lord. He perfectly fulfilled the name-bearing commandment and the entire law. He accomplished what no one else could.
When we give our allegiance to Jesus, he claims us as his own. As Dr. Imes puts it, we now bear the “invisible tattoo” of Jesus’s name upon us. This isn’t just a symbolic act—it transforms us. It marks us as his, and it calls us to live as his representatives in the world.
Every Heartbeat Bears His Name
So when I think about Amy Grant’s Every Heartbeat, I see a beautiful picture of what it means to bear God’s name. As followers of Jesus, every heartbeat does bear his name—loud and clear. He has staked his claim in us.
Now it’s our turn to live in light of that truth. We bear his name not just in word, but in deed. We are called to live and love as he has done, following him for the glory of his name.
A Lasting Reminder
I don’t know Amy Grant’s original intent for Every Heartbeat, but when I listen to it now, I’m reminded of this powerful calling. We are name-bearers of Jesus, and that truth changes everything.
If you’d like to explore more about this topic, check out Dr. Carmen Joy Imes’s book, Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters. It’s a rich, scholarly work, but it’s written in a way that’s accessible to everyday readers like us.
And if you’re like me and love diving into the intersection of theology and 90s Christian music, you’ll love our book, Mixtape Theology: 90s Christian Edition. You can grab your copy here.
Let’s keep bearing his name, loud and clear!
-Rachel
