What's In a Name?

(Back from a month's hiatus. Ready to restart this blog but from now on I'll be using devotionals from Our Daily Bread. Please see their website at http://odb.org/ for each day's devotion. You can also subscribe via email, snail mail or use the ODB app. I hope you will read the devotion each day, then come here for some additional thoughts and the opportunity to leave your comments.)

Read John 1:35-42

What's in a name? Before you were born, your parents most likely picked out a name for you. A name of a grandparent or friend; a name with a special meaning to them; or perhaps you're named after the month in which you were born or a quality they liked, such as Hope or Joy.) Whatever your name, you become associated with the name itself.
In the Bible we find many instances where God changed someone's name: Abram became Abraham, Jacob was changed to Israel, Saul became Paul and the Apostle Simon had his name changed to Peter by Jesus. Each time, the new name held some deep spiritual significance and meaning.
When we become a Christian, our identity is also changed. A few actually change their name when they are "born again," but most keep their given names. Either way, this experience means that we are now adopted into the family of God. We begin to develop a family resemblance: we learn to have the 'mind of Christ' and to reflect his qualities.
Once we arrive in Heaven, God gives us a new name. In Revelation 2:17, we learn that God writes a secret name on a white stone. This new name is known only to us: a name we, nor anyone else, has heard before. My own opinion is that each of us has a particular blend of qualities that makes us different from every other person in the world. God knows those qualities because he gave them to us and throughout eternity, God will call us be our special, unique name.
For now, we can be glad if we are God's child. Each day our appearance is becoming more and more like God's son, Jesus.