by Kevin Burton
The Bible records instances when God placed a person’s life on a significantly different trajectory, and drove home the point by changing their name./
We looked into some of those yesterday. For example, God changed that noted trickster Jacob’s name, which meant “supplanter,” to “Israel,” meaning “having power with God.”
That of course, coming from God, was all positivity.
I am more familiar with giving names sarcastically. For instance, my mother’s room mate in the nursing home is so pathologically self-centered that if she were presented as a fictional crocheter would not be believable
“Nobody could be that selfish,” you would say.
So I think of her as “Mimi.” Get it, “me, me, me, me, me” all the time.
Or, how about “sunshine” for someone with a consistently negative attitude.
The Old Testament book of Ruth records an instance that was not truly a name change. Keep in mind, “Naomi” means
“pleasant.”
Because of a famine, Naomi’s family moved from Bethlehem to Moab, but then her husband and both her sons died. On top of unbearable heartbreak came severe financial calamity. Upon her return to Bethlehem, people said, “Can this be Naomi?”
“Don’t call me Naomi,”she told them. “Call me Mara (meaning “bitter”), because the Almightyhas made my life very bitter” (Ruth 1 :20 NIV).
The book of Acts refers to the noted attacker of Christians as “Saul” but eventually switches over to “Paul.”
“The change is commonly linked to Saul’s conversion on the Damascus Road, when the Lord Jesus commissioned him to take the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 9:1–19),” according to gotquestions.org.
But really he had both names all along.
“Saul’s name was also Paul. The custom of dual names was common in those days. Acts 13:9 describes the apostle as “Saul, who was also called Paul.” From that verse on, Saul is always referred to in Scripture as “Paul.”
But this whole subject has me thinking, what if God changed my name? What a blessing it would be if I were found faithful enough that God would send my life in a whole different direction, and change my name to certify it!
Or, would I get the name for “one who has good ideas but does not follow up on them?” Or, “one who blames God for his own shortcomings?” Or, “one who seeks forgiveness but does not forgive?”
Or maybe just “Jonah.”
In high school and college I was called Birdman. But what accurate name does God give me?
“Have you ever noticed that the closer you are to someone, the less they use your given name?” writes Rebbekka Messenger on mylifetree.com. “Nicknames, it seems, are a great indicator of relationship status. If someone feels comfortable enough with me to call me Bekkie, Bekka, or the many other variations of Rebbekka, I know that they’re probably close to me–even more so when they call me something entirely different.”
“It’s this line of thinking that has led me to wonder what God calls me. Does God have a nickname for me?” Messenger writes, before listing some of the Biblical name changed I talked about above.
“If you are a believer and a follower of Christ, chances are God has given you a name as well. The truth is, God’s grace changes everything about us. When we accept him, we are made new–no longer identifying with the person we were, but transforming into the likeness of Christ.”
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17 KJV).
“If you look into it, you’ll find that the Bible already provides us with a wide range of nicknames. In Christ we are sons, daughters, conquerers, servants, leaders, brothers, sisters, and more,” Messenger wrote. “Because of our relationship with God, he calls us something new–something that reflects his promise and our purpose.”
“Our relationship with him can be summed up by what he calls us, and for me, I love the thought of God referring to me as daughter, princess, and conquerer.”
“What names do you think God has for you?”
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