Focus: Live By Your Surname!

Text: Isa.45:4

"For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have SURNAMED THEE, though thou hast not known me."

At the new birth made possible by the Spirit, God gives us His name to bear. At the dedication of the temple of Solomon, the Lord appeared to him and said, "If MY people, which are called by MY name…" (2Chron.7:14). At the new birth we become the people of God who bear His name. Truly we are called by His name. 

Paul says, "The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that NAMETH the NAME of Christ depart from iniquity" (2Tim.2:19). The Lord knows His own - those who belong to Him. The same way children and wives bear the name of their father and husbands, even so it is with us. We have God's name as our last name. We are bearers of the name of our God. One prophecy by Isaiah says that a day would come when "seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be CALLED by THY name, to take away our reproach" (Isa.4:1). 

The moment our spiritual rebirth takes place and we begin to bear the name of God, then our reproach is forever lifted. He does not abandon us to fend for ourselves. 

He does not only give us His name to bear and ensure the removal of our reproach from us, but He also leads and feeds us.

According to Isaiah 65:15, God calls us His servants by another name. God has proudly surnamed us and taken away our reproach. He has given us the privilege to pray to Him in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. It was in the name of Esau that Isaac blessed Jacob, and it is also in the name of Jesus Christ that the Father blesses us.

In closing, let me bring something else to your notice - something still related to name-bearing. John tells us something about Thomas, one of Jesus' disciples. He says, "Then said Thomas, which is CALLED Didymus…" (Jh.11:16). Didymus means 'double' or 'twin.' It refers to one who is double-minded, a doubting or skeptical person. He was called a doubter either by his parents or by others. He was popularly known for being a doubter or double-minded. He was known for that. 

The question now is: what do people call you? What do they know you for? Because people see; they watch you daily. Paul says, "We are a public spectacle." Do people look at you and see faith or they look at you and see doubts and fears written all over you? Do you inspire confidence in others or you raise fears in their hearts? Are you like the ten spies of Israel who made their brethren lose heart or like Joshua and Caleb who motivated and gingered the people? 

In the book of Acts of the Apostles, we learn of another man by the name of Joses. Luke writes, "And Joses, who by the apostles was SURNAMED Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus" (Act.4:36). The Apostles gave Joses the surname of Barnabas. In fact, Barnabas is hardly known as Joses. His surname has gained widespread popularity among Christians across the globe. Luke tells us the meaning of his name, which is 'the son of consolation or encouragement.' Barnabas was known by the church as an encourager. He encouraged believers and inspired generosity in their hearts. He encouraged Paul and John Mark. He exhorted God's people everywhere. He was always a blessing to the Christian community.

What are you known for? What name do they call you? Apart from the name of God you bear, how do others see you? Is your impact on others negative or positive? Are you bearing God's name for nothing? How well do you represent the name of God on earth or everywhere you find yourself? Are you called Didymus or Barnabas - doubter or consoler - by others due to what they see in you? Don't bear God's name in vain. Don't spoil or soil the name of the Lord. As Paul had admonished us, let those who bear the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. Live by your divine surname! Amen!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter