Name Changer

In the iconic Act II of Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, the scene opens with the radiant Juliet exiting her chambers onto her balcony, unaware of Romeo's presence just below. After the drooling Romeo utters a few words to himself, Juliet starts in on her famous soliloquy, "O Romeo Romeo. Wherefore art thou Romeo". She then proceeds to eloquently exclaim into the night sky about how their differing last names are causing all of their problems, thus the forbidden love plot around which the entire play revolves. It is there, in the middle of that speech that she says this verse:

What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;

It's a good point. You could call a "rose" a "cow" and it wouldn't change its sweet fragrance. It's not the name that determines its features. It might not pack the same poetic punch though I suppose, "Come hither my Sweet and partake of the majestic aromas emanating from this cow."... how romantic. But how would we know any better if "cow" was the name we always associated with the colorful little flower we call a rose?

This got me thinking. It's weird that words and names have inherent connotations. If you think about it, they are just a collection of letters that, when arranged a certain way can evoke emotional reactions; reactions that can be similar to what others feel or wildly differ. They shape the very fabric of our thoughts and how we mentally perceive the world. If that's the case, they just might be the most powerful force in the universe.

Deep... anyways back to the hopeless romantic Juliet's point, what IS in a name? It's not your name that defines the content of your character but rather vice versa. Romeo and Juliet were hyper-compatible based on their character but it was their family names and all that those names stood for that were defining them. Maybe you can relate. Maybe you've grown up in the shadow of an older sibling or found your self reproducing generational tendencies or even allowed yourself to be defined by the labels placed on you by society.

When it comes to personality, humans behave a lot like chameleons. We match the color of our surroundings to fit in. But what happens when the source of something so monumental as our identity is defined by outside influences? We are tossed into the tragic pursuit of becoming someone we see rather than someone we be. This can be incredibly frustrating because, well, to take some advice from another great poet:

"Today you are You

That is truer than true.

There is no one alive

who is Youer than You."

~Dr. Seuss

Now let me turn this blog up to 11. You know your name? Yeah, the one you've had since birth. What if one day God all of the sudden told you "You are no longer [insert your name here]. You shall now be called [insert new name here]." Boom. Just like that, God completely re-labels you. He rips your "Hello my name is ____" sticker off, slaps on a shiny new one and says "That old one was alright but this is how I see you." Wouldn't that be crazy? It sure was for a guy named Abram.

At the spry young age of 99 God says to Abram:

"This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! What's more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!" (Genesis 17:1-6)

There was something so special, so grand, about God's plan for Abram's life that God decided to re-brand him. Abram which meant "Exalted Father" was now Abraham which means "Father of a great multitude". Did I mention he was 99 years old at the time? I think I did.

This actually happened with Abraham's wife too. Her name was Sarai, meaning "Princess", and God renamed her to Sarah, meaning "Mother of nations". Soon after that they miraculously have a son named Isaac, from whom comes Jacob from whom comes Judah from whose line comes David from whose line comes Jesus. The parents of nations indeed.

As it turns out, just like Abram, God sees you differently than everyone else. Regardless of your name, regardless of your parents, regardless of what everyone's saying about you, God thinks more highly of you. He thought the world needed a you so he made you. You exist because He wanted you to. Take confidence in this fact, that there is a Father who had you named before you were even born.

It pains me to see so many people searching for identity in all the wrong places. They are desperate to find someone who will tell them who they are and what their purpose is. And there are plenty of just-as-lost people who are eager to answer that question for them, offering up empty promises and company for their misery. Everyone is longing for belonging.

The truth is, there is only one place you can truly find the answer to those questions. It's a place called Calvary. The place where everyone's name was paid for in full and everyone's potential unlocked. The place where Jesus says to us "I see you with all of your imperfections and flaws, with all of your mistakes and sins, and I say you're worth it. I will pay the ultimate price for you because you're worth it. Believe in me and you will find out what I see in you and all that you can become."

This is your identity. You are the beloved of God's and he has a special place for you in His heart.

Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it. ~Revelation 2:17