On The Naming Of Things (And People)

I don’t think I know my name.

I realize that sounds like a strange statement to make. Let me explain. At times, in scripture, God would change a person’s name in order to mark them for a future purpose, or as a reminder of when He intersected their lives. In Genesis 17:5, Abram became Abraham, because God told him he would be the father of a “multitude of nations.”

Abraham’s grandchild, Jacob, also had a name change. Jacob wrestled with God, begging for His blessing, fighting all night long. Finally, in Genesis 32:26-28, the following conversation took place:

“Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!’
But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’
‘What is your name?’ the man asked.
He replied, ‘Jacob.’
‘Your name will no longer be Jacob,’ the man told him. ‘From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.’”

Lest you think this was solely an Old Testament activity, Jesus followed in Dad’s footsteps. Simon, one of the first that Jesus called as a disciple, got a new moniker in John 1:42. “Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, ‘Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas’ (which means ‘Peter’).” Peter means “rock.” Peter went on to preach the first sermon in the first church of Christ-followers – essentially becoming the rock upon which the church, the body of Christ, was built.

All this name-switching has led me to thinking: does God have a new name for me? A new identity found only in Him that I have yet to fully discover? I’m learning more and more about who I am in Christ with each passing day, but I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. What more does He have for me to learn, to discover, to grow into?

I don’t have the answers to these questions yet (if I did, I wouldn’t be asking them, would I?). But I know, no more than ever, that the answers are held in God’s hands, and will be revealed in God’s time. What new name does He want to mark me with? What new name does He want to give to you?