Quote from Forum Archives on August 10, 2007, 4:12 pm

Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>

Forthright Magazine
www.forthright.net
Straight to the Cross

COLUMN: Heavenly Connections

My God-Given Name
by Tim Hall

I've never met a person who didn't have a name
(other than newborn babies whose parents had
procrastinated). In every society on earth, names
are demanded in order to distinguish one from
another. If you don't have a name, someone will
quickly attach one. Often we are given an
additional name -- a nickname -- based on some
attribute others see in us.

Which leads me to wonder: Does God give nicknames?

In John 1:42 we learn that Jesus gave a new name
to Simon, brother of Andrew. "And [Andrew] brought
him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He
said, 'You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall
be called Cephas' (which is translated, A Stone)"
(NKJV). Jesus was not demeaning Simon's character
by that name; it was a compliment. In Simon, Jesus
saw someone who would one day be a symbol of
strength in the kingdom of God.

Mark, in listing the apostles, tells of another
naming: "James the son of Zebedee and John the
brother of James, to whom he gave the name
Boanerges, that is "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17).
Luke helps us understand why Jesus gave such a
curious name to these men. After some Samaritans
refused to allow Jesus and his disciples to enter
their town, James and John urged the Lord to call
down fire from heaven to destroy that place (Luke
9:54). In this case, the name was not a
compliment. It did, however, show the Lord's
perception of their true character.

The church to which I minister recently provided
name tags for all its members. What would happen
if on Sunday we discovered that the Lord had
changed the names? In place of the names our
parents gave us, we would find instead our God-
given name. How many of us would like that? Would
my name tag read "Gossip Lover," "Power Seeker,"
"Hothead," or "Two-Faced"? If the Lord named me as
he named others, would I be proud to wear that
name tag?

In spite of our flaws, God is patient with us.
John identifies the best name that can be bestowed
by God: "Behold what manner of love the father has
bestowed on us, that we should be called children
of God! ..." (1 John 3:1). As long as I know I'm a
child of the king, there's hope for me.

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