What’s In A Name?

 In Life

In a culture where babies are named after fruits, superheroes, and favorite foods, it’s hard to believe that what you were named was once the most telling and important factor in identifying who you were. In the Bible, we see God change people’s names at very strategic times and places: Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, Simon to Peter, and many more. There was deep significance in what a person’s name represented for their life, and for their future destiny. It was symbolic of a new direction; a new path that God was calling that person on.

Maybe your given name says very little about you. If you’re like me, though, maybe you’ve been given other “names” by those around you, that you’ve somehow accepted and begun to fulfill, desired or not. Have you been defining yourself by a name that someone called you long ago that hurt you and yet you can’t seem to escape? Maybe you’ve been called something so many times that you’ve failed to realize that you do have a choice in letting the words of others label and identify you.

Today, take those names to God and let Him define You in His own way. He may give you a new name that speaks to the way He sees you. Decide today to shed the negative labels that others have inflicted upon you, and to take up the name that Christ has given you that overrides all others: He calls you His own. No other name can stand against that title. You are His, precious, loved, and chosen.

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