{"id":1138,"date":"2021-11-02T08:09:33","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T12:09:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=1138"},"modified":"2021-11-02T08:09:33","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T12:09:33","slug":"names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/02\/names\/","title":{"rendered":"Names"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Names were serious business in the ancient world. 

They were thought to reveal something of the character, identity, and even the destiny of those who bore them.  That\u2019s rarely the case in modern Western culture.

Every few years I publicly reveal what the “W” of my middle name stands for. 

Back in the 1950’s, if my parents had been able to see far enough ahead, they might have named me Glenn.www.McDonald.  As it turns out, the “W” does not stand for William or Walter or Wesley or any other classic mainstream name.  It stands for “Wick.” 

That’s was my Dad’s nickname.  He was born Richard McDonald, but since his older brother Willard apparently struggled to pronounce his r’s when they were kids, he called my dad “Wickard.”  The name stuck.  Dad always answered to Wick.  My parents thought it would be wonderful if I were also a Wick, which only proves the Bible\u2019s teaching that the sins of the parents will be visited upon their children.

The author of the book of Ruth, whose identity we do not know, quickly introduces us to the names of all the main players \u2013 with the exception of a character who won\u2019t appear until chapter two.  Here\u2019s how the stage is set:

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab.  The man\u2019s name was Elimelech, his wife\u2019s name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion.  They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah.  And they went to Moab and lived there.<\/em>

Now Elimelech, Naomi\u2019s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.  They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth.  After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.  <\/em>(Ruth 1:1-5)

In the space of the book\u2019s first five verses, a multi-generation family encounters five catastrophes:  a famine, exile to a land of Israel\u2019s sworn enemies, and the deaths of all three of the male providers.  Life is not going to be easy. 

So what\u2019s behind the names of these individuals? 

Elimelech means \u201cGod is king.\u201d  That is a name of great honor.  Naomi sounds like the Hebrew words for \u201cbeautiful and pleasant.\u201d  Their sons, however, bear more ominous names.  Mahlon means \u201csickness\u201d and Kilion means \u201cfailed\u201d \u2013 destinies that appear to have been fulfilled.  What were their parents thinking? 

One of the boys married Ruth, a name which means \u201cfriendship\u201d \u2013 something that will be on spectacular display in her relationship with her mother-in-law.  Orpah appears to mean \u201cstubborn.\u201d  In 1954 an unwed Mississippi teenager gave birth to a little girl to whom she was determined to give a biblical name.  Her sister Ida suggested Orpah, which is the name that appeared on the baby\u2019s birth certificate.  But her family and friends had so much trouble spelling and pronouncing her name that eventually she became known as Oprah<\/em> \u2013 Oprah Winfrey.

What about your own name?

You can go with the one you received at birth.  Most people do, even if they sometimes wonder about Mom and Dad\u2019s intentions. 

Or you can change it.  Reginald Dwight became Elton John.  Joaquin Bottom morphed into Joaquin Phoenix \u2013 no doubt a wise marketing move.  Jennifer Anastassakis opted for Jennifer Anniston \u2013 easier for her friends to remember.  Maurice Micklewhite chose Michael Caine \u2013 he had grown up loving The Caine Mutiny.  <\/em>And Marion Morrison became John Wayne \u2013 \u201cThe Duke\u201d should definitely not be named Marion. 

On the other hand, you might identify yourself with some kind of hidden personal descriptor \u2013 a dark name you would never actually speak aloud.  Perhaps you secretly know yourself as Hopeless, I\u2019ll-Prove-All-You-Jerks-Wrong, or Worthless.

Or you can go with one of the names that someone else \u2013 perhaps a parent or an ex or a boss or a bully \u2013 hung on you somewhere along the way:  Failure, Slacker, Second Place, Not-As-Pretty-As-Your-Sister.

There\u2019s one other option.  You can claim as your own the names that God has bestowed on every Christian in Ephesians 1:3-14.  There are seven of them \u2013 one for every day of the week.  If you\u2019ve enrolled as a follower of Jesus, here is a seven-fold expression of your true identity:

Blessed<\/strong>
Redeemed<\/strong>
Forgiven<\/strong>
Included<\/strong>
Sealed<\/strong> (by the Holy Spirit)
Predestined<\/strong> (for adoption into God\u2019s family)
Chosen<\/strong> (before the creation of the world)

You can name yourself.  Or go with what others call you.

Or you can conclude that God alone knows who you really are, and has the right to declare your identity, character, and destiny.

Whatever name you choose to answer to will almost certainly determine the shape of your life.

Here’s one reason to be encouraged: 

At least your middle name isn\u2019t Wick.    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Names were serious business in the ancient world.  They were thought to reveal something of the character, identity, and even the destiny of those who bore them.  That\u2019s rarely the case in modern Western culture. Every few years I publicly reveal what the “W” of my middle name stands for.  Back in the 1950’s, if my parents had been able… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1139,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[85,353,175],"class_list":["post-1138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-names","tag-ruth","tag-spiritual-identity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1138"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1140,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1138\/revisions\/1140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}