Names in the bible are often very significant. In our culture the most common custom is to name a child something that sounds nice, with little or no thought going into the meaning of the name. In the bible the meaning of the name is very important.
In reading Matthew 1:18-25 we see that the child Mary is going to have is given two names, Jesus and Emmanuel.
Jesus, which is a variation of Joshua, means "God will save".
Emmanuel means "God is with us".
These names give us a picture of the ministry that Jesus has. As the angel says he saves us from our sins. And he is the God who invaded earth, he is truly God with us.
I found interesting that Jesus is never again called Emmanuel. Though looking at his life we see that he fulfilled the calling of that name.
What does your name mean?
My name Benjamin means "son of my right hand".
Now some might not like the meaning of their name or their name may have no meaning at all. This is just fine. As I said our culture often names people for the sound of the word instead of its meaning - this is not wrong.
But I want to ask "do we have two names?" We have the one that is given to us by our parents. But can we allow God to also name us? Can we allow God to give us a name that defines us, a name that will shape the rest of our lives? Honestly I don't know. But I am going spend sometime this week asking God to name me, to define me.
2 comments:
My Name means "moon goddess".
I remember in a dream once God named me but I could never repeat it. The name was so beautiful and in the language of angels that I could not even pronounce it. I love that dream.
Oh Ben just so you know, I linked my readers over to your blog... love you.
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