The Journey 123
Thursday, May 3
Read: Genesis 25
What does your name say about who you are? This was a news item on CNN by Sarah Springer yesterday. This news item came about because  Jessica Simpson the famous American recording artist, actress, television personality and fashion designer had announced yesterday about the birth of her baby girl whom she named her as “Maxwell Drew”, a name that is non traditional.  In fact she is not the first to grab headlines naming her child with a nontraditional name. Many others have done this before. The famous Hollywood artiste  Tom Cruise and Kate Holmes have named their daughter, Suri, Jay Z . Look at the names the  Celeb chef Jamie Oliver has given to their four kids: Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisy Boo Pamela, Petal Blossom Rainbow and Buddy Bear Maurice.  Last year in mid-January, newspapers announced that Pope Benedict XVI had "declared war" on baby name trends, "railing" against secular, celebrity-inspired names. The key quote: "Do not give your children names that are not in the Christian calendar." This brought about a discussion whether giving your child a biblical name enhances the child's spiritual development? Does it matter what we name our children?. So does name have any significance on ones personality and the way we live our Christian life in our family. What is the importance of naming in the Biblical traditions of faith.  When we look in the Bible, the custom that was prevalent was when parents  use to name their child , it could be an  expression of parents’ gratitude to God, or something connected with the personal appearance of the child or the circumstances under which it was born. That is how Jacob and Esau were named [ Gen 25: 24-26] . Some naming are done to express happiness and hopes of their parents on the particular child [ 1 Samuel 1: 20]. Sometimes a child is also named after someone in a former generation as a memorial, so that the person may not be forgotten. Thus it is common to have family members’ names reused every few generations. This also explains why the people were so amazed when Elizabeth declared that the name of her child would be “John,” and said to her, “…There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name” (Luke 1:61). But whatever be it,  some of the biblical authors and writers consider that naming can have considerable significance when the parents and the church are intentional about what that name conveys, and celebrate it regularly. Another famous author Scottie May says that “"Biblical names or names from Christian tradition can help children see that their own names and stories are deeply tied to the people and meta narratives of the Bible and the church. But no matter what a child's name, everyone's is connected to the larger story of God's ongoing love for us.". But there is more than naming.  For me I believe transformation in the family happens when each one of us in the family recognize our identity through our relationship with Christ and live a life not only worthy of the name that our family has given to us but also through the calling that God gives to each one of us. That is why later when Jacob who cheated everyone, gets called  by God, he is given a new name “ Israel” which reveals his new identity and also his new vocation, a new generation.
Whether your name say or does not say who you are, let us remember that we as person both in our name and in our life need to reflect the new identity that God gives to us. Then only the transformation in our family context will take place.
What is your name? Why did your parents give you that name? Do you know that?