A New Name

The other night my husband and I were having a conversation about God, letting the Holy Spirit lead the way. Chris and I are Pittsburgh natives. We love Pennsylvania and will always have an attachment to “home.” Although we haven’t lived in that area for almost 8 years, who we used to be always comes up in these types of talks. We were known as different people, who we used to be.

Chris was known by some variation of his last name. No one called him Chris; I realized that not a single person here in North Carolina calls him by his last name. Why would they? That’s not who he is here, it’s like Chris received a new name. Obviously, he had this name his entire life, but only recently started living as such.

This reminds me of Peter, who was once Simon. Jesus changed his name after He confirmed that Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Son of God was true.

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:17-18).

Peter means “rock.” Jesus, however would sometimes revert to calling Peter “Simon,” and I think this shows that sometimes Peter projected a little of the old Simon; and Simon wasn’t saved. Peter was. The grace of God is truly remarkable for Peter.

And the grace of God is truly remarkable for Chris. Chris fell in love with Jesus, but that doesn’t mean that the name that covered Chris’s true identity for so long doesn’t sometimes rear its ugly head and come back for a moment. This is why we need Jesus, is it not? Without Him we aren’t covered in the blood and forgiveness of Jesus. God knows that we are sinners; He knows that we are going to fail. He has the ability to change who we are, and only with Him do we have the ability to make a complete change. God doesn’t say that with Him we will not have struggles in life; He actually said we will have them, and probably worse because we are followers of His.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33b).

You cannot be the person you were and receive all that God has for you. Consider Abram (Abraham), Sarai (Sarah), Jacob (Israel), Saul (Paul), Solomon (Jedidiah), etc. In order for you to start walking in purpose, you have to become someone new. God changed these Bible personalities for the trajectory of their lives and purpose. Chris was and is destined for a new mission, a new race. His change changes the fate of his 4 sons and now they have the opportunity to carry a last name with a totally different meaning and attachment.

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold (Proverbs 22:1).