WHO ARE YOU?

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold   Proverbs 22:1

I was on my way to the gym not long ago, when I saw the announcement of a new resident’s arrival on a neighboring apartment door.  As I glanced at the name, I was stopped in my tracks. The last name displayed had 13 letters in it! Thirteen letters! I had no chance of pronouncing that name which was mostly consonants. Wondering if there were children or grandchildren somewhere who struggled with learning to spell that name, I thought back to my teaching days and how often I had to ask students for help in pronouncing their names.

It also appeared that first names were taking a turn. Very few Bills and Bobs and Sallys and Janes headed my class lists. (We must keep in mind I started teaching in 1968!) There is a 3-word question that most of us are faced with answering many times in life-Who are you?  This is a question that cuts to the core of our identity. Some of us answer it based on our family roles, Mom, Dad, wife, husband, etc. Some of us answer it based on our vocation or job title, Project manager, Doctor, Bus Driver, Carpenter, etc. Some simply use their given name.

Names hold meaning. If you were given a name based on things that were true about you, what would your name be? In the New Testament, Jesus called a rough, impulsive fisherman named Simon to be one of His disciples. In Matthew 16, Jesus renames him: Now I say to you that you are Peter

(which means rock), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. (Matt 16:18)

Jesus renamed many people in the Bible. If He were to rename you based on things that were true about you, what name might that be?

God, you see me. You know me. You know who I am and who I am meant to be – and when you rename me, that will be the basis for my new name that only You and I will know. Amen.

                                                                                Barbara Schneider