Adam’s first assignment in the Garden was to name all the animals. Just think about it. How could the animals be distinguished, by kind or gender, if they did not have a name? How could Adam have asked Eve if she saw the “jumping thing” if he had not named it a Kangaroo? Eve would not have known if he was referring to a grasshopper, a rabbit, or a frog.
Names allow us to communicate clearly. When I am in a conversation with someone who tells me a story about two or more people and refers to all of them as “they” or “them,” I get lost in all the verbiage. Giving names, or at least nicknames, is essential for telling a good story that people can follow.
I don’t think animals have the ability to give each other names. Certainly, animals have a highly developed ability to distinguish between what is threatening and what is non-threatening.
I am glad humans have developed the ability to name things and, in particular, each other. That is what nouns do: name things. When it comes to people, we have nouns and proper nouns for each other. You may use a simple adjective as a noun for me, but my proper noun name is Fred Baldwin. Well, actually, the first is a nickname, a portion of my parents’ given name. I am most often called “Fred,” but a few of my friends call me “George.” My older brother calls me “George Fred.” My younger brother often calls me “Freddie.” And that is what my parents called me in my preadolescent days, “Freddie.” I changed that to “Fred” when I was told that the “ie” made the name feminine. The male spelling ended with a “y.”
My three children call me “Dad.” My grandchildren and in-laws all call me “Pops.” (I have wondered if that is plural or possessive.)
When I hear any of those nouns or proper nouns articulated, I look instantly for the source. That person, in a way, has control over me. I cannot ignore the sound of one of my names passing through my ear into my conscious mind. I don’t want it any other way.
Any written or digitized correspondence I receive that begins with “Dear Homeowner” never allows me to delve into the body of the text that follows. But when they address me by my name, I will at least discover what their message is about before discarding it.
When I cannot recall a person’s name, I imagine that person will assume, right or wrong, that they are insignificant to me, unimportant, unknown. When someone remembers my name, I feel all the opposites of those negative feelings.
To have command of a person’s name carries the ability to influence that person. When I call their name, they will give me their attention. If I say, “Hey, you,” either everyone turns around or no one. Being given another person’s name is a very special gift. For a person to give you their name is allowing you to select them from a crowd of individuals. They have permission to engage you in exchanging information.
For instance, the name Moses is a proper noun that distinguishes a single person from all the others in history. At least it narrows down billions of people to less than ten.
When Moses was commanded by God to go to the enslaved Hebrews, he suggested that they would ask him, “What’s the name of this God who talks to you?” He needed to prove to them that he had a personal relationship with God. From the Hebrews’ perspective, he was essentially asking them to commit mass suicide, or self-genocide.
The Hebrews heard Moses’ words, but how could they be sure Moses’ words were really from an authority that could reverse their miserable, intolerable, dehumanizing circumstance? If Moses was that close to God, he should, at a minimum, know his name. Sounds reasonable to me.
That is not much different than when physicians hang their diplomas and certifications on the wall of their offices. Just because they announce, “I am a physician,” does not carry the same weight as a document confirming a medical degree from a well-known university.
When we pray, “Your name be honored as holy” (Matt 6:9 CSV), we are not making a request for God to do some action! It is our Creator’s desire that we know and call on his name. His name is Holy in and of itself! This phrase of Jesus’ prayer is an acknowledgement of what has always been and always will be. When we say those words, we are solemnly pledging our personal declaration that we will adjust our lives to His reality. Not His life to ours.
When Jesus taught us to pray “Our Father…” He recognized every human’s relationship to God and to one another. Then, when he says, “Your name be recognized as holy,” He clearly establishes the essence of how we should relate to Him and all He does.
One more thought here: God did not give His name to Moses; He gave Moses a one-word summation of His divine character. God is revealed to humanity through who He is and what He does. Through Jesus, we come to call upon God not by his name but by the relationship he has chosen to have with us, “Father.” That is huge!
The more I ponder this “Lord’s Prayer,” the more I am profoundly impacted by it.
“Therefore, my people will know my name; therefore, in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.” (Isiah 52:8, NIV)
Photo – One of my favorite photos I’ve taken in the last couple of years.
Baldwin Heirlooms 