The newspaper ran a story recently about a man in our area who tried to change his name to “God.” The judge wouldn’t allow it, however, reasoning perhaps that the name was already taken.
So the man came back later and changed his name to “I Am Who I Am” (see Exodus 3:13-15).All the practical problems associated with a name change would of course be multiplied if you took the name God, or even “I Am Who I Am.” Imagine getting a drivers license or a passport. Imagine your credit cards.
While considering the ramifications of such a name change, I remembered how the Hebrew prophets sometimes spoke of being called by God’s name. Jeremiah makes a plea to God for the people:
…you, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not forsake us! (14:9).
In the next chapter, he speaks of himself as called by God’s name:
Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart;
for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
(15:16)
This didn’t mean that Jeremiah went around saying that he was God, but it did indicate an intimacy and a sense of being under God’s protection.
The early followers of Jesus weren’t at first called by the name of Christ — that is, “Christians.” That happened first in Antioch, and it is likely that when first used, the term was derogatory.
As for us, we can rejoice in being called by the divine name without having to go before a judge or change our passports and credit cards. After all, we are made in God’s image, God dwells in us, we have been made children of God (and children usually carry the name of their parents). We also, therefore, have the responsibility to act as God acts, with compassion and tenderness, with forgiveness and mercy, with love for those who love us and for those who don’t. People should be able to look at our lives and be reminded of the goodness of God.
O God, may I live
as one called by your name
and made in your image.
May I be so transparent
that others may glimpse you
through my words and actions.
Amen.