What's In A Name?

Throughout the Bible, names have had a great deal of meaning. God gives and even changes names. Their meanings are not accidental. Even the many names we have for God Himself are valuable to our understanding of Him and our spiritual growth.

My husband, Wally, and I have taken naming our girls pretty seriously. Not only are their names an intricate part of their identity, we also pray that their names will "fit" them, truly describing who they are.

Our oldest daughter is named after the minister who performed our wedding and his family. Their surname, Riley, is her first name. Her middle name is my grandmother's name, Christine. We were only able to finalize her name when I researched the meanings and put them together: Riley Christine- "valiant Christ-follower." We have prayed this would describe her from that day forward.

Piper Gail is our second born. "Piper" is an author who has been influential to both Wally and myself. The meaning of "Piper" is "one who plays the pipe." "Gail" is my mother's middle name and is short for "Abigail," meaning "her father's joy." Our prayer is that Piper will live her life in such a way that she brings joy to her Heavenly Father and is an act worship to Him, just as an instrumentalist would play his or her "pipe" in an offering of praise.

We have chosen a name for our third little girl who we are expecting to make her appearance near the of September. "Eliza" is short for the Biblical name "Elizabeth" and means "oath of God." Her middle name will be the same as Wally's mother, Joy. We are already praying, giving this life back to the One who is entrusting her to us, that she will be so committed to Him that He will fill her life with His joy that He can use it to transform the lives that surround her.

I have enjoyed sharing with Riley how and why we chose her name. I look forward to having similar conversations with her sisters as God provides the opportunities.  I want to be intentional to point all three of them back to Jesus with every chance I have.

I also want to point them to His various names and meanings too.

Throughout my journey with Christ, different names of His have held more meaning to me. As God has revealed something to me about His personal nature or how He cares for me, certain names have just seemed to come alive to me.

During this season, Provider and Sustainer have fit. With the loss in my family, being nearly 37 and pregnant, and in all the craziness going on around us in this fallen world, He has been, continues to be and promises to remain both to me.

What about you? What names of God have taken on new meanings in your spiritual life lately? What is God revealing about Himself to you through His own names?