What's in a Name?Sýnishorn

Receiving a new name

Many people suffer from harassment — by their colleagues, their classmates, or their “friends”, for example. The English language has a special word for verbal abuse in which insulting or demeaning labels are directed at an individual or group: “name-calling”. Maybe you have personally experienced how painful it is if people call you names. This can hurt just as much as physical abuse.

Jesus speaks about a totally different kind of name-calling. He promises believers who remain steadfast in the midst of suffering and hold fast his name (Revelation 2:13) that He will give them a white stone with a new name that no one knows except the person who receives it.

No matter what other people call you, if you are a child of God, Jesus gives you a new name. He does not pay attention to other people’s opinion about you or to the labels they have assigned to you. He knows you as a Father knows his child, and He gives you a name as a father gives his child a name. Other people won’t even know this name, since they have nothing to do with your relationship with the Lord.

Do you know God as your loving heavenly Father?