“—to be given a name is an act of intimacy as powerful as any act of love.”
Madeleine L’engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith & Art.
When we found out we were pregnant with our first child we immediately began scouring baby name books. Knowing we were having a boy narrowed down the process but didn’t lessen the pressure. We knew nothing about our little bundle of life to come, yet had to choose a name that would express all he would hopefully become while knitting him into the fabric of our family identity. We deliberated for all nine months. We were down to the wire filling out hospital forms staring at the blank name space completely unsure if we’d do our son justice or not with whatever name we chose. How could we know who he would be? Would this name encompass his personality, nuances, joys, future, and personhood? We just had to choose and hope for the best.
Naming your child is a process of delicate devotion. Names have meanings. They identify and give people a point of reference to who they are. They are important for social security cards, education, jobs: all a societal necessity. But to those who thoughtfully bestowed us with a name it was a sacred act of love: an announcement of kinship and acceptance. A hallowed welcoming into the world and beginning of life.
Whether we like our given names on earth or not matters little because our original identity comes from God. Throughout scripture God reminds us of who He’s called us- who He’s named us to be. We are named beyond our familial, earthly name. God calls us sons, daughters, children, heirs, co-heirs and friends. These are intimately specific names identifying us as His beloved offspring— handwoven creation. We are His. We are sacred to Him. We are important. We are His family. This is a sacred intimacy we have with him not because we’ve done anything, but because we are born of Him and He has named us as such.
Lucky for us, God doesn’t teeter back and forth in a hospital room for lack of a name or poor decision-making skills. He knows us, therefore, can name us with no hesitancy. We are loved.
Read the following Scriptures.
I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. Isaiah 56:5
I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1
Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:17
Reflection Questions:
- What feelings or emotions do these verses stir in your soul concerning your identity?
- Which verse stood out to you the most? Why?
- Do you believe you are living in your fullest identity according to who God calls you? If not, what’s holding you back?
- How do you name others? Do you put them in a box or name them as God names his creation with love and acceptance?
