What's in a Name?

On New Year’s Day my fourth grandson was born! My daughter and her husband spent many hours deciding on the perfect name for their child, Blaise. He is already setting my heart on fire. Every child is special. Each name is important.

My parents put much thought into my name as well. Trouble is, I never liked the name they picked—Cynthia. Sounded like a snooty spinster. Married forty years with five grown children—I’m far from that, but the image lingered in me. One day I stumbled upon a new way to look at my name. I was researching information about cocoons and found a silk worm named Samia Cynthia. Wow. Suddenly, I thought—my name is not aloof, distant, or uncaring. Silk is soft, shiny, luxurious. Something precious and desired. I read further. The Samia Cynthia moth eats leaves from the Ailanthus tree, a Chinese tree whose name means “tree of heaven.” I beamed with new understanding. Not only was my name valuable, it was God’s idea. He chose my name before I was born. I was his treasured child.

In my book, the main character, twelve-year-old Zach Jacobs, also discovers hidden value in his name. He and his friend, Renee McNichols, stumble upon a cellar once used to hide slaves on the Underground Railroad. They find a Bible with a family record page that includes the name Tillie Jacobs, a black servant who helped her mistress conceal runaways. Zach, who is bi-racial, wonders if they are related. A letter sandwiched in the Bible, and other historical information unveil a rich history about his ancestor. The difficulties Zach faces every day (divorced parents and bullies at school) temporarily fade as he ponders where he came from.

Long ago, the angel Gabriel whispered God’s chosen name for the Messiah to his servant, Mary. Did she tell Jesus how he was named? I imagine she did. The name Jesus means Jehovah saves. Did he ponder the meaning of his name in his formative years, as the Father disclosed to him his destiny?

God had a special plan for Jesus. Because he fulfilled what God called him to do, we may go to heaven. But it doesn’t end there. No matter what our parents named us, God has designed a destiny for each of us—something better than we have imagined. We find it when we seek him.