What's In A Name?

People get my name wrong a lot. I can count over 30 variations of spelling and pronunciation and it really irritates me. None of those alternatives are my name. None of them are me.

We identify ourselves by what we are like as people, but also by what we are called, what we are known as. And we don't just feel a minor frustration when our names are misspelled or mispronounced, we feel as though we ourselves are misunderstood or unknown.

One of Shakespeare's most famous lines is all about names:

"What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet."

Juliet says that her beloved would still be as attractive to her if he had another name.  But doesn't this undermine the significance of names and the meaning that they carry?  Names are important.  The first thing we share when we meet someone knew is our name: it describes and defines who we are.  And people change their names and abbreviate them to reflect their personalities.  Oscar Wilde even wrote an entire play about the issue and importance of names [The Importance of Being Earnest].

Names matter.

In the Bible, names had meaning too.

God reveals His name to Moses in Exodus:

"I am who I am.  Tell the people of Israel 'I am sent me to you.'"
[Exodus 3:14, NLT]

God chose to reveal Himself in the present tense.  I am.  Not I was.  Not I will be.  But I am.

God is. 

Constant.  Consistent.  Unchanging.  Unwavering.  Stable.  Steady.  Reliable.  God is the same today as He was when Moses encountered Him.  God is alive and active in our lives today.

God is.

Names matter.