What's in a name?

What’s in a name?  Have you ever thought about names and the significance they carry?  In Bible times, the naming of the child was a significant event.  The name was derived either by some significant circumstance surrounding the child’s life, or some characteristic of the child himself. 

Issac means “laughter”.  Sara laughed when she bore him thinking how improbable it was for a woman of her age to give birth to a child (Genesis 21:6).  Esau means “hairy”.  He was so named because he was covered in hair at his birth.  Jacob means “to supplant”.  He was grasping the heel of Esau when he came forth and would eventually undermine his bother and deceive his father to receive the birthright.

 Moses’ name has a phonetic similarity to the Hebrew term for “drawing out from water”.   Thus, he was named for the circumstances of his life, and prophetically for how he would lead the people through the Red Sea to salvation from the Egyptians. 

Sometimes God tells the parents what to name the child because He knows the plans He has for the child later in life, or to signify a message to the people.  The name “Jesus” means “the Lord saves”.  What is your name?  How did you receive it?  More importantly, do you have the name of God written on your life, having become a child of the Most High God?    

We could consider names in so many forms.  What is the proper name for God and how did He receive it?  What are some of the other names for God and how do they reflect His character?  How do you relate to Him through His many names?

Or, we could discuss that if you are a redeemed child of God, you have been adopted into the family of God and endowed with His name.  Does your life reflect the moniker of “Child of the King”?  Do you represent your heritage well, or as the Apostle Paul puts it, are you living a life worthy of the calling you have received?

There is much in a name.  We carry with is as Christians the Name that is above every name, the name of Jesus.  Let’s focus today, and every day, on honoring the name we have been given by faith in the One who died for us.