What’s in a Name?

I get to be a grandma. Thank You, Jesus!

When the proud parents-to-be revealed her name to us prior to her birth, I was amazed by their sentiment and thought in choosing her name. She carries the same initials as her father and paternal grandfather. She is the namesake of her maternal grandmother. Then the parents-to-be shared the biblical meaning of her name. In Hebrew: ‘tower’. In Greek: ‘child of light’. When combined with the meaning of her middle name, she is a ‘child of light in the valley’.

Oh, how this grandma prays she grows into just that!

Hundreds of years before His birth, the prophet Isaiah shared the name of the coming Messiah—a child that would be born to us, a Son who would carry the government upon His shoulders—and declared it to be:

“Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

Indeed, Jesus lived out that name during His ministry on earth. Scripture is ripe with the great counsel He shared with His apostles and followers. He challenged those who did not believe but offered peace to all who did. Then, Jesus resolved any uncertainty of His true identity when He declared Himself to be God. Using the same words God used to reveal Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14, Jesus declares:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).

My daughter and son-in-love’s name choice signifies the hope they have for their firstborn. As she grows, her name will solidify her connection and family legacy, and prayerfully she’ll come to personally believe in and share the same hope of her parents: The hope that Isaiah prophesied when he declared our Messiah’s name and the same hope that our Savior confirmed when Jesus declared, “I am.”

I pray you believe in that same hope and come to know more deeply your Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace—our great I AM.

And as a new member of the grandma club, I don’t take my role for granted—I’ve got praying to do. Will you join me in praying that I AM raises up my granddaughter—along with an entire generation of children—to be His light to others, loving servants and workers for His Kingdom, and sharing His truth and the message of hope and salvation to those who find themselves in the valley of darkness. Amen.