Parents usually spend a great deal of time deciding on a name for their child. The name might honor a family member like grandma or reflect a certain attribute like strength. It might simply sound good.
Did anyone ever make fun of your name? If so, that was an insult. Our name represents us. We’re asked to write it on documents like checks. I’m asked to write my signature on books, which supposedly makes them more valuable.
A high point in the story of our relationship with God is the day he revealed his personal name to Moses: I AM.
Names play a significant role in the Bible and in our life. Following is an excerpt from my new book A Love Affair with God: Twelve Traits. The chapter begins by highlighting how important names are to people in love. Then it explores how important they are to God:
According to Genesis, God brought everything into being by merely pronouncing its name: “Let there be light,” “Let there be a dome,” “Let the dry land appear,” and so forth. Possibly on the day you were conceived, the Creator proclaimed, “Let there be [your name]”!
Your baptism ceremony, when you were reborn as God’s child and became a member of the Church, began with the priest or deacon asking your parents, “What name do you give your child?” Then during the pouring of water or immersion, he addressed you by that name.
God’s love for you embraces your name. In Isaiah 43:1, God endearingly says, “I have called you by name, you are mine.” By what name does God call you? Your baptismal name? Another name? A nickname?
God is fond of bestowing meaningful names. Genesis reports that God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means “father of a multitude of nations.” At the same time, God changed this patriarch’s wife’s name from Sarai to Sarah, which means “princess.” Their grandson Jacob, father of the twelve tribes of Israel, also was renamed. After wrestling with an angel, Jacob became Israel, which possibly means “God contends.” God told the prophet Hosea what to name his three children. Their names served as a prophecy for the unfaithful people of Israel: Jezreel (God will sow), Lo-ruhamah (not pities), and Lo-ammi (not my people).
God chose the name Jesus for his Son. This is a translation of a Hebrew name Yeshua, which is a contraction of Yeshoshua, Joshua in English. The name means “God saves.” The heavenly Father made doubly sure that Jesus would be the Savior’s name: The angel Gabriel instructed both Mary and Joseph to call her baby Jesus. Like his divine Father, this Son had a propensity for name changing. He gave the apostle Simon the new name Peter, which is Greek for “rock,” explaining that on that rock he would build his Church. Jesus also playfully dubbed his apostles James and John “Sons of Thunder” and left it to us to speculate why.
On the day of the Resurrection, Mary Magdalene surmised that a stranger she met at the tomb was the gardener. But when he spoke her name, it was like lightning struck. Instantly she realized the stranger was actually her beloved Jesus.
Jesus, the good shepherd, said, “I know my own and my own know me” (John 10:14). He “calls his own sheep by name” (John 10:3). In your “mind’s ear” hear Jesus calling your name. Imagine with what tenderness he pronounces it. Touchingly your divine Lover also declares to you, “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:16). (God’s tattoo!)
One day Jesus remarked to his seventy disciples, “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” This means they would be citizens of heaven someday. The book of Revelation speaks of names written in the book of life in heaven. On judgment day some names will be blotted out. (Revelation 3:5, 20:12) Because you are a disciple of Jesus in this century, hopefully your name will also be recorded permanently in the book of life in heaven.
St. Thérèse of Lisieux recounted a charming event from her childhood in her autobiography. Walking with her father one night, she noticed a cluster of stars that formed the letter “T”—possibly the stars in Orion’s belt and sword. She assumed that the letter in the sky stood for Thérèse.
In Hannah Hurnard’s allegorical novel Hind’s Feet in High Places, Much-Afraid is a deformed orphan who lived in the Valley of Humiliation with the Family of Fearings. She becomes a shepherdess for the Chief Shepherd. He leads her with companions Sorrow and Suffering to the High Places, the Kingdom of Love. There she acquires a new name, Grace and Glory.
Perhaps Hurnard derived the theme for her book from the Book of Revelation. There God says, “To everyone who conquers…I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name” (3:17). (The white stone is presumed to mean innocence, while a black stone signifies guilty.) Supposedly your new name emblazoned on the stone will reflect your unique life on earth. Then again, perhaps it will simply read, “My beloved.”
The following link takes you to a song about God calling you by name. The song begins about 20 seconds into the video.
• What nickname do you think God would give you?
• What would you like God to call you on the last day?