day no. 15,787: the case for name calling

"And the evening and the morning were the first day." - Genesis 1:5

"The evening was 'darkness' and the morning was 'light,' and yet the two together are called by the name that is given to the light alone! This is somewhat remarkable, but it has an exact analogy in spiritual experience. In every believer there is darkness and light, and yet he is not to be named a sinner because there is sin in him, but he is to be named a saint because he possesses some degree of holiness. This will be a most comforting thought to those who are mourning their infirmities, and who ask, 'Can I be a child of God while there is so much darkness in me?' Yes; for you, like the day, take not your name from the evening, but from the morning; and you are spoken of in the word of God as if you were even now perfectly holy as you will be soon. You are called the child of light, though there is darkness in you still. You are named after what is the predominating quality in the sight of God, which will one day be the only principle remaining. Observe that the evening comes first. Naturally we are darkness first in order of time, and the gloom is often first in our mournful apprehension, driving us to cry out in deep humiliation, 'God be merciful to me, a sinner.' The place of the morning is second, it dawns when grace overcomes nature. It is a blessed aphorism of John Bunyan, 'That which is last, lasts forever.' That which is first, yields in due season to the last; but nothing comes after the last. So that though you are naturally darkness, when once you become light in the Lord, there is no evening to follow; 'thy sun shall no more go down.' The first day in this life is an evening and a morning; but the second day, when we shall be with God, forever, shall be a day with no evening, but one, sacred, high, eternal noon." -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

The field may be mixed with wheat and weeds, but it is still called a "wheat field". This is the case when the wild patch of land is first transformed from weeds to seeds. It continues to be the case when the resilient weeds seem to be the dominant note of the garden. At no point is it a weed field once it has been claimed and called a "wheat field" by its owner. The owner will go to great lengths to ensure the field becomes what He already calls it: bountiful, fruitful, and wheat -- every inch of every acre. Until then, may the wheat field be comforted even when seeing weeds here and there, for your Master has plans to eradicate those and in the meantime continues to call you, "wheat." 

"Simul justus et peccator." --- Martin Luther (at the same time justified and a sinner)

All saints are sinners, but they are called by the name "saint."

All days include a night, but are collectively called "days."