The Power of a Name

"My great name"

Jeremiah 44:26

I was chatting with a friend of mine the other day about names.  She has three daughters, two of whom are married, and their married names seem to fit so perfectly with the first and middle names their parents gave them.  For instance, one of the daughters is named Maria, and her new last name is Martinelli (or something like that).  Both girls' new last names seem to have been planned.  

I, on the other hand, have a married name that doesn't jive with my first name at all.  No flow, really, because my first name and my last name originate from different parts of the world.  But when I laughingly said that to her, she replied, "But your name is so American!"  I love that idea.  I can remember, years ago, watching an Olympic ice hockey game, and noticing the last names of the players on the two teams.  It was probably Sweden vs the U.S., and everyone on Team Sweden had names like Samuelsson and Johanssen and Larson.  The American team, on the other hand, had names like McCormick and Tikkanen and Roi and Pak.  This is the nature of America, and always has been.  And my name is a reminder of that. 

It got me thinking about names, of course.  The Bible talks a lot about that.  Names mattered a lot in Bible times ~ they spoke to one's character, or history, or the parents' hope for the future. 

And then of course there's God's name.  In the 3^rd chapter of Exodus, Moses said to God, “When I come to the children of Israel and say to them, “The God of your Fathers has sent me to you,’ what shall I say to them when they say to me, ‘What is His name?’”  And God said to Moses, “I AM.”

In the Garden of Gethsemane, when the authorities came to arrest Him, Jesus went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”  They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.”  Jesus said to them, “I am He.”  And when He said that, they drew back and fell to the ground.  What felled this detachment of troops and officers, with their torches and their weapons?   The sound of that powerful name, “I AM.”  

I forget, sometimes, the majesty and power in His name.  I forget to honor it as it should.  I'm not the type to use "OMG" in my daily conversation, but neither do I reverence His name. 

His is the name above every name.  And at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Beautiful, powerful, and sweet to my ear. 

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, 

but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

Psalm 20:7 

“Our help is in the name of the Lord, 

the Maker of heaven and earth.”

Psalm 124:8

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; 

the righteous run to it and are safe.”

Proverbs 18:10

“All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 

Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13  

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