Luke 1:12, 59-61 English Standard Version

13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.”

Times were when family names meant something. Here God has told Zechariah and Elizabeth what the child should be named. So what is in a name?

Honor and tradition meant something at one time and I cannot say it holds those same values today. My brother was honored to be named after both of his grandfathers. At one point in his life he decided everyone had to call him by a name he gave himself. I considered that disrespectful as I would have loved his name and honored my grandfathers.

Wives these days do not even have to take their husband’s name. There is no disrespect in breaking that tradition. So what is in a name?

I had a neighbor who changed his family name to Christianson. He did not attend church and broke off all affiliation of fellowship with those he knew. Was he a Christian because he changed his name? I will say I believed him to be a Christian in manner and communication, so what did it matter that he changed his name?

I honor my father and mother in their choice in naming me but I do not particularly like it. People laugh at me when I give them my name. But what is in a name?

Isaiah 62:2 English Standard Version (ESV) The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.

This name I carry on earth is a sojourner’s name, temporary, and some day my Lord will give me a new name and I shall carry that name with me in eternity.

What does it matter what I am called? It is how I act and how I communicate that matters.