What is In a Name?

I have been called different names. My name has been mispronounced several times by people. So, I always give out the cut version to make it easier for people to say it. Besides, it sounds better to hear it said correctly.

Why is our name important to us? What does our name signify?

Back in 2011, I was visiting Italy with my daughter. As we entered St. Peter’s Basilica and looked up, my daughter said “mom, your name is up there. No wonder the locals can pronounce your name correctly.” I looked up and there printed in Latin “HINC VNA FIDES MVNDO REFVLGENT” that translates “From Here a Single Faith Shines Throughout the World.” Wow! I said to myself I knew my name in Latin means “faith” but seeing it written out that way gave me a distinctive perspective of the significance of my own name – it was beautiful and meaningful. I never thought of its meaning that way.

When we pray, we say, “In Jesus’s name or Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord…” God’s name in Hebrew in the Old Testament is Jehovah. We give reverence to His name.

This season of Advent, we celebrate and commemorate the birth of Jesus and the significance of His name as written in Matthew 1:22-24 and prophesized in Isaiah 7:14.

Immanuel “God is with Us” is the fulfillment of God’s promise that He will send us a Messiah (God Himself) in Jesus Christ. His name will be praised and glorified. It signifies that God is always in us and with us when we foster a relationship with Him.

On our best days, our worst days, in every moment, and through highs and lows, He is Immanuel. He never changes – He is as in the beginning and in the end. The ALPHA and OMEGA.

His name transcends every other name.

As we celebrate with family and friends this holiday season, let us be reminded that in the center of our lives God is “THE” only name that we shall find Love, Peace, and Joy.

©fm1 11.30.21