An Impression

last night i spent some time in the book of Daniel. i have spent a lot of time in there this past year, and i intend to spend much more time there in the days to come.

i have said much about Daniel in several posts, but last night something stuck out to me i never noticed before.....something i find curious. i do not have an answer in stone to my question, but i have some thoughts i wish to share.

Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azeriah.
Daniel 1:6

the part before this tells how king Neb captured several Israelites, and brought them back to his kingdom in Babylon. but some men were brought to be trained and serve in the court of the king.

do you see what caught my eye? i find it interesting that out of what must have been more than just a hand-full of men, only four are mentioned by name.

but why? the Scripture does not elaborate on this. but i have been thinking. thinking about all of the other times people are mentioned by name in Scripture compared to this time. and my mind rests on this: they stood out.

Daniel and his friends, who some might know better as Rack, Shack and Benny, made an impression that could not be over looked. they made an impression by following God. but more than this, by using the gifts God granted them. look at this.....

The king talked with them, and he found none more equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azeriah.
Daniel 1:19a

out of all the men trained to serve in his court, the king found none that compared to these four. and because of this they were granted much favor by the king.

i have to stop and think. if i were in a group of people and someone wrote a book about them, would my name be mentioned? more than that, would it be in a positive light? would i stand out in the crowd as a light to God?

would i make an impression?

Daniel and his friends did. they had rock solid character.....unshakable integrity.

do we have that?