Become Children of God
What’s in a name?🌹
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But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name—he has given the right to become God’s children
John 1:12 (NET)
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After writing out yesterday’s email, I had to pick this verse for today.
One of the things that societies have kept doing across thousands of years is passing names on to family.
We all have a personal name and a family name.
The family name is an identifier. It tells the world who you identify with.
Names are powerful.
Something interesting about the story of Abraham and Sarah is when God changes their names. Abram becomes Abraham and Sarai becomes Sarah.
What’s going on there?
Well, they are adopting a part of God’s name — YHWH — and identifying themselves with Him.
You can see it with the addition of the “H” in their names.
It’s a narrative picture of the transformation that God did for them when He adopted them into His family. And more than that, God adopted their names too!
Yes, from then on God became known as the God of Abraham.
Later the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
The covenant we have with God is more like a marriage than we often think. There is an exchange of names, where we publicly identify ourselves with God and — more astounding — He publicly identifies Himself with us.
I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about that before, but personally, I find it extraordinary.
Now, the challenge?
Living up to the new name I’ve been given.
It’s a high standard, and I’m grateful I have the Holy Spirit to help me.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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