What’s In a Name?

Judi Wheat / Next Gen Preschool Curriculum Coordinator

“I have called you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1b NLT

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11 NIV

When we were studying the “Seven Realities for Experiencing God”, one of the first Scriptures that caught my attention was from Exodus 3:4-7; especially, verse 4, “When the LORD saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’ ‘Here I am!’ Moses replied.” God called Moses by name; it is comforting to know that God knows me by my name and also you.

Each and every one of us has been given a name. Our name is what we answer to, when someone calls out our name, we respond, just as Moses did to God. There is meaning in a name, there is significance in a name, there is power in a name, but most of all there is a name that is above all other names and that is JESUS!

I have been thinking a great deal about how God knows my name, He calls me by my name, and that He expects me to respond to Him. He has a job/assignment for me; and I just need to listen to Him and be obedient to His will. And, at the same time, I need to recognize the significance and power in the name of Jesus and be in an intimate relationship with Him. Just as He knows my name and knows me, I need to know Him and experience Him. Just as the Scripture states from Jeremiah 9:23-24, “This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.”

In Matthew 1:21, we read the words spoken to Joseph: “She will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Jesus is our Savior, our Messiah. It’s so important to honor the name of Jesus because: it is the name by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12), it is a name that helps establish everything a Christian does (Colossians 3:17), and it is the name at which, in the future, every knee shall bow (Philippians 2:10-11).

I would like to close with a song, which can be used as a prayer, written by Bill and Gloria Gaither.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; there’s just something about that name

Master, Savior, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain;

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all Heaven and earth proclaim

Kings and kingdoms will all pass away

But there’s something about that name

Kings and kingdoms will all pass away

But there’s something about that name.