Do you know the name of your pharmacist?

There's an interesting public service announcement running here in Jacksonville.

In the PSA, a woman named Karen Reid--who represents the American Pharmacists Association--asks what I initially thought was an odd question: Do you know your pharmacist's name?

She says that studies have proven that a good relationship with your pharmacist can improve your health because a pharmacist who feels more connected to his/her customers takes his/her customers' health care more personally. The assumption is that if you know your pharmacist's name then he/she will know your name and studies have shown that if your pharmacist knows your name he/she is more likely to double-check your medications, offer you generics (to save you money), and be an advocate for you to your doctors and insurance companies.

Studies show that a healthy relationship with your pharmacist can save your life.

This PSA reminded me of a passage of scripture from John:

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

--John 10:14,15

Do you know God's name or is he a stranger who works in the building on the corner whom you only visit when you are feeling spiritually weak--or ill--and you need some spiritual medicine for your soul?

He knows your name and he wants to have a relationship with you . . . and studies of his word have proven that a healthy relationship with God will save your life.

Oh . . . and by the way . . . my Lord's name is, "The Good Shepherd" and I promise to find out my pharmacist's name by the end of the week.