This is a very old question, and the first time we read of it being asked, in the Bible, it was asked by an angel, and the man who answered must have been ashamed as he told it, for he had been made to realize that his name expressed his character, and that,was a very unworthy one. (Gen. 32:2929And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. (Genesis 32:29)).
This is not always the case, for names seem often to be most ill-fitted. There is Frank, a cunning, sly, deceitful boy, whom no one that knows him trusts; and there is David, or Beloved, who, like an Ishmaelite, is against everybody and everybody against him. There, too, is Grace, with no sign of grace in her, she is so stiffnecked, and obstinate; and there is Patience, with as little of that virtue as a young colt. And there is a sedate, thoughtful little maiden, called “Judy,’ whose only fault seems to be in her name. So one concludes What’s in a name?
But we have a story to tell. A father going with his boy one night to a meeting, said,
“Johnnie, I want you to pay great attention, because in the address I will mention your name.”
“My name! father, what will you say about me?”
“O, you must wait, my boy.”
Johnnie listened earnestly, but did not bear his name as he expected, and so afteards said:
“Father, you forgot to mention my name.”
“No, Johnnie, I said it more than once. Try to understand what I mean.”
“I think I know what you mean, father; was it when you said, sinner?”
“Yes, my dear boy.”
Ah! Johnnie never forgot that walk and talk with his father, for he was led to own his name to be sinner or one who is and has done evil in the sight of God. But Johnnie trusted his Saviour, and now his name is changed to Christian, which means Christ’s one or a follower of Christ.
We will now write a very plain and precious Gospel passage, in the hope that some one will fill in the blank spaces in the same way that we are called to do when the Directory man comes to our houses to put down our names and addresses.
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation (it has had mine) that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (I am one of them, and so He came to save me—and He has done so!) 1 Tim. 1:1515This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:15).
ML 02/09/1941