For all of our technological advancements as a society, I think one of the things we've lost is the power behind names. In our time, names are almost an afterthought; when we are naming our children, they either have to sound super hip and cool (or completely off the wall if you're a celebrity), or they're most likely tied to an ancestor in the family. For some, there's an intentional search for meaning behind their child’s name, whether it's biblical or tied to the original meaning and history/language of the name (which is a really interesting field called onomastics). It's a lost art in our age of viral videos and social media trends.
In ancient times, a name was everything. It declared who the person was and what they were about in their life (see the countless biblical examples of this, i.e. Abraham in Genesis 17 and Peter in John 1). It revealed a window into their character, and carried with it the weight of living up to that standard. Knowing a person’s name revealed a deep part of them.
Throughout our study of the names of God at Red Hills, this truth has been a massive source of comfort as well as insight in my relationship with our creator. God is our creator, He loves us, but the names of God in scripture reveal so much more about Him. He is our banner (Yahweh-Nissi), our healer (Yahweh-Rapha), our peace (Yahweh-Shalom), among so much more. These names reveal important aspects of God that help us grow in deeper relationship with Him.
If you haven't already, I encourage to go back through our podcasts and walk through this journey of the names of God. It’s like finding out more about someone you already love and falling even more in love with them. It's well worth the effort.
- Chris