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What's In A Name?
Joe Killian • Jan 12, 2018
I spoke to a friend today who just became a father for the first time. After months of waiting the baby had arrived. I immediately wanted to know what Rory's little girl's name was. Madeline Noel, how beautiful! Names are obviously important in this week's Gospel:
John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God." The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" — which translated means Teacher —, "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come, and you will see." So they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messiah" — which is translated Christ —. Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas" — which is translated Peter. John 1:35-42
Jesus is referred to by no fewer than four names in this short passage (six if you count the definitions of two of them). Names were critically important in biblical times. Zechariah gave John (the Baptist) his name after hearing from the angel Gabriel. John pronounced one of Jesus' names as "Lamb of God." Andrew, knowing the significance of John's pronouncement immediately followed Jesus. Next is Simon who hears the long awaited name, Messiah, from his brother Andrew. When Simon meets the "Christ" he receives a new name, Peter.
Parents choose their children's names with care, often giving names with great family meaning. So what is really in a name? Identity. We are identified by our names. In the case of Jesus, understanding His identity means we must understand the meaning of His many names. We also learn of His purpose. John's identification of Jesus as the Lamb of God speaks to why Jesus came. He came to be God's final sacrifice for sin.
Jesus died for Rory and Madeline and for you and me. So what's in a name? When it comes to Jesus' name as the Lamb of God, He suffered and died so that our names could be written in the "Book of Life."
The story continues...I'm still working on the pondless waterfall in our front yard. I shared this project with you two weeks ago in Playin' In the Dirt. Since then I've had to rework sections of the stream three different times because we were losing too much water. I am now an expert on evaporation rates and excessive splash, two causes of water loss. This morning I tore the whole thing apart and I'm starting over.
Have you ever watched DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda? I stumbled across it recently and thoroughly enjoyed Jack Black's performance as a bumbling, noodle selling, kung fu enthusiast, giant panda named P o. Set in ancient China, it is more than a humorous slapstick comedy. The core message of the story jumped out at me as I have been focusing recently on the concept of being. Po is shockingly identified as the Dragon Warrior and he reluctantly enters training. The goal of the training is to receive the Dragon Scroll, which is believed to hold the secret to limitless power. Now I don't want to spoil the big reveal but I will say that what Po realizes is the same as what I speak to in the concept of being and authentic identity. So, where do we find the secret to our "power?" I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works! My very self You know. Psalm 139:14 God knows it; and we must seek Him with all of our hearts in order to find it. As it was in the movie, the answer is stunningly simple. Our authentic identity is already within us. The challenge for Po in the movie was in seeing himself accurately and not the way others saw him. Even his teacher scoffed at the idea that Po was anything more than an underachieving dreamer who overate when he was anxious. Po's problems are rooted in the fact that he believes the lie of his false identity much more than he does his authentic one. Is it possible that you do the same? Who could have imagined that beneath all of Po's girth lived the Dragon Warrior? What's hidden from view in you? Seek God for understanding as to who He created you to be. Spoiler Alert: the secret of your limitless power is already in you. God placed it there and He wants you to be who He authentically created you to be.
Maria and I have been playing in the dirt a lot recently. First we replaced our French drain and then we embarked on a creative project intended to change the entire look of our front yard. My brother Jeffrey and I installed a new front step.
