WHAT’S IN A NAME?

(6-minute read)

Browse through any supermarket lanes, and you will find names for all kinds of products organized in different aisles to make it easy for shoppers to find what they need. All products have labels that fulfill unique roles – brand labels tell us who made the products, food labels describe what’s in the product and product safety, and promotional labels entice us to buy a larger volume than we need at a discounted price.

Unlike products that are used and disposed of, human names carry lifelong innate value. Adam and Eve were the first human names recorded in the Bible, and names were so important to God that He instructed Adam to name all the animals in creation. Imagine the time it took to complete that task! The legendary playwright, William Shakespeare, however, contended that the naming of things was inconsequential to how they were enjoyed and experienced.

To be clear, we are not products displayed on some Christian shelves for people to see, and maybe say, ‘How nice!’. 

So, what is the name that people have used for you? Do they see your God-given purpose when they call your name? Or is it just a name of self-serving convenience and utility to them? When people call your name, do they realize that they are addressing someone with a larger purpose in life than what they can get from you?

Without question, God is big on names. He renamed individuals (so Abraham, Sarah, Israel were new names for Abram, Sarai and Jacob), gave parents names for their yet-to-be-born infants (Isaac which means ‘she laughed’ referring to how Sarai responded when she first heard that she would conceive), and impressed parents with names for their children (Hannah named her only son Samuel which means 'heard by God'). And of course, Jesus renamed Simon to Peter. 

What’s in a Name if the Name is John?
God birthed purpose in us even before our parents named us. We like to think that a good life is a life of material success and comfort. How many believers live in relative luxury yet have little to share, and how many live with limited resources, yet plant big trees for the Kingdom of God?

To the elderly couple Zechariah and Elizabeth, He gave them a son whom they were to call ‘John’ instead of following the customary tradition for naming their firstborn. God promised the newly-minted parents that John would be ‘a joy and delight’ and he would also be ‘great in the sight of the Lord’. He would be ‘filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born’ and his life mission would be to ‘bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God’ and ‘to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous - to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’

So, from the time of conception, John's destiny was set for life!

What’s in a Name if the Name is Jesus?

The Bible tells us that Elizabeth conceived John six months ahead of Mary’s divine conception of Jesus (Luke 1:36). Separately, Mary and Joseph were instructed to name their firstborn son, Jesus, ‘because he will save his people from their sins’ (Luke 1:31, Matthew 1:20-21). Their child would not have an ordinary name but a name that would rise ‘above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Philippians 2:9-11).

For eternity, Jesus is the Name that carries the authority and power to break every chain of sickness, addiction and oppression, breaks through the spiritual blindness that leads to salvation, and calms turmoils, storms and chaos. 

Every day of His life, Jesus lived to fulfill God’s plan and purpose. He became the Way, the Truth and the Life for all humanity.

What’s In A Name If We Are Called Christians?

Christians are disciples of Jesus Christ. Three things set Christ's disciples apart from the crowd:

Disciples Love One Another

Believers are collectively instructed by Jesus to love one another: that means, everyone – not only people who are related to us or who give us certain benefits or advantages. Even if loving people does not come naturally, it is necessary. Believers must learn what it means to love others by our actions. Christian love is proven not by intention or meditation, but by our action. Nothing exposes apathy more than inertia. 

Outside the echo chamber of chat groups, do you make deeper intellectual, emotional and spiritual connections with others individually? Or are you content to hide behind texted chatter and cute emojis? Christian love is a force that connects people and makes the love of God believable to them (even to believers who are discouraged). So when Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” He was talking about loving others as though God was loving them through the disciples.

Disciples Have Christlike Posture

True humility does not come easily to most humans. It has been said that humility is not thinking less of ourselves but to think of ourselves less obsessively. There’s nothing more spurious than believers misquoting Philippians 2:13 (NLT) and say, ‘It’s not me, it’s God’ when people compliment us for the godly excellence they see in us. We need to let the inflated egotistical persona that is within us die, and allow God to right-size our self-perception each day. At the same time, we need to constantly remind ourselves that being a Christian does not mean we are better or more superior to those who are not. If there is any difference, it is that we are sinners saved by the grace of our heavenly Father. 

“Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of Himself… He set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, He stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process.” (Philippians 2:5-8). 

Who do you choose to be this day? The posture you carry is so important, and it has to be one of humility.

Disciples Have A New Wardrobe

“So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.” (Colossians 3:12, The Message).

This is not a garment you wear only to impress others of your ‘Christianity’ and remove when you are home. It is also not a garment to conceal your ‘Christianity’. Rather, it is a unifying expression of the love of God in us. Do people look for you when they need support, counsel or prayer? It will depend on your wardrobe: do you have one that signals indifference or invites intimacy? 

Finally, don’t just let your name be a name on display like a product on a shelf. Whether your name means harvest farmer, grace, life, purity, beauty, warrior, queen, messenger, resurrection or joy, whatever your name means, let it bear out in all your relationships and actions – all the time! Let your name fulfil your God-given purpose and destiny that will ultimately bring Him glory and honor.

This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BeInReach Session held on 7 September 2024.