What’s in a name?
Yeah, I know. Some will point out the kind of names parents are giving their children these days. Bizarre, exotic, wild, hilarious all given to babies that barely have an idea of what it’s all about. Having said that, it wasn’t as though back in the day everyone paid careful attention to the names they gave children.
Of course this is not the case everywhere at all times. In some places the naming of a child is treated with the highest respect because that name will have packed in it some things of enormous value and worth.
There’s also something about growing in a family where you’re very much aware of the reputation that comes with your name. It’s not just about you at all. It’s about what comes with your name – the heritage comes from the lineage. Your actions can either bring the name to positive light or bring it into disrepute.
When I was told initially about the third of the Ten Commandments about not taking His name in vain it was very much about not using the term ‘God’ lightly, irreverently or in an off-handed manner for uses of exasperation, irritation or even excitement. That notion stuck with me for years so that I thought that commandment was really about how you treated the use of the name in language.
Thankfully help from faithful followers of Jesus helped me to understand that first of all the issue was about the name – not the term, then they moved into what it was about in terms of the reputation behind the name. Calling on God, trusting in His name means valuing His name highly. Bringing that name into disrepute – by thoughts, words and deeds that contradicted what the name meant was taking His name in vain. That means many could have avoided using the term ‘God’ whilst still taking His name in vain by being so self-righteous and pompous in their attitude.
It is a sobering thought. It’s a thought that highlights what it is to love. Really loving someone and cherishing their name is about truly valuing what is meant by that name and how that is expressed in the one who embodies that name. Cherishing, valuing, prizing highly something is like that curator who doesn’t want to see the merest mark on any of the exhibits. There is such a joy in in it, there is such delight in it that there is a desire to not bring any blemish or tarnish to it in any way.
When we love God wholeheartedly, when we explore His Name and how He has revealed Himself throughout His Holy Word, it’s not just a curator’s admiration we develop, but an even deeper love for Him and a corresponding desire, never to bring that name into disrepute. Never to blemish the name by exhibiting values that go contrary to that name.
That’s why it’s worth investing a lifetime in looking to the glorious Creator of the universe and consider,
What’s in Your name?
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
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