A New Name

When I hear someone call me ‘David’ I realize it’s someone from ‘back
in da day.’ It’s not that I particularly changed my name; it’s just that most folks call me Dave. I used to sing with another guy name David Jackson & it was confusing. Folks often called me Dave or Davo or such anyway so it just took.

Heard about a man in East Tennessee whose parents named him ‘Oddly.’ Most folks just called him ‘Odd.’ He hated the nickname & told his wife when he was buried he only wanted the date of birth & death. Sure enough, at his death his wife honored his wish with simply the date of birth & death. To this day, though, people still walk up & say, “Isn’t that Odd?”

There’s a lot in a name. A name speaks of character. What if I were to say, “Benedict Arnold”? What would you think? How about ‘Judas’? ‘Adolph Hitler.’ You probably won’t be naming your baby girl ‘Jezebel.’ In biblical culture they tried to give a name to match or inspire character.

In our culture we go to lengths to protect our name & identity. People will try to ‘steal’ your name & identity to use for nefarious means. Our staff recently had to change our credit cards because the bank’s information (really OUR information) was compromised. You hear stories regularly of people stealing information of others. It’s called fraud.

The story is told of Alexander the great. He would often go about in stealth & disguise to move among his people. He came upon the city wall where a watchman was to be at guard. He found the young man asleep at his post (punishable by death). He woke the young man & asked his name. “Alexander, Sir.” His response, “Change your name or change your ways!”

Often in biblical times & in many cultures when someone had a life change they changed their name, again, to reflect a new character. For example: Jacob meant ‘cheater’ & God changed his name to ‘Israel’ meaning, “May God prevail.”

A friend of mine was a missionary to Botswana, Africa. He told the sad story of a young boy. His name meant “not human.” He asked how the boy came by such a name & he told him the chief had named him that because his mother & father were not married. When this young man accepted Christ as Savior he said, “My name is no longer ‘not human,’ but ‘human’ because God has made me His son!”

I’m not sure if you’re particularly happy with your given name. Some hate it to the point they change it for about $80. You can change your name all day long, but it’s the heart that really defines us. How about it? Have you ever truly had a change of heart? Have you come to the point in your life that you said, “God, I give you all of me. I take on Your name”? The first people who were called Christians didn’t coin the name. Others called them that because they emulated Christ so much. That’s something to be said of someone!

Do you have a ‘pet name’ for someone special? We laugh around my house & say no one there (animal or people) really is called their given name. All of us have a nickname (my wife’s family even more s. A pet name is a name of endearment you have for someone you care about. God has a special name for each of us that are His. We don’t even know it. But when Christ returns He’s reveal that special name.

"Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I'll give the sacred manna to every conqueror; I'll also give a clear, smooth stone inscribed with your new name, your secret new name."
Rev. 2:17 The Message

The crux of all this is, what kind of name do you have? What do people think when they hear your name? My prayer is that it is a special person God is using. Even more so, what does God think? I can tell you He loves you greatly & wants to give you a special name that He alone will call you.

www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell: 870-217-9376 Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com