What is in a name that makes us who we are? How does it dictate or direct our lives? Better still, who does God say I am? Are these questions you’ve asked yourself? Let’s dive in deeper to who God says you are and why this is important.
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One of my favourite stories is Anne of Green Gables. She sparked such imagination in my little mind as a child and I still think of the stories fondly. One part recently came to mind about roses.
I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I’ve never been able to believe it. I don’t believe a rose WOULD be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage.
L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
I distinctly remember this part of Anne of Green Gables. I thought of it recently when my 3-year-old started asking me what my name was and calling me by both names – Alyssa and Mama.
I decided to look up the quote again and realized Anne was quoting from Romeo & Juliet!
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.William Shakespeare; Romeo & Juliet
It got me thinking about names and how important they are.
Would a rose smell different if it was called a skunk cabbage? Likely not, but you might be less likely to smell it if you knew that’s what it was called! Skunks and cabbage typically aren’t items you stick your nose in to get a whiff of them.
So maybe there is something about a name that affects the object, maybe it does matter.
What Is In a Name?
When my 3-year-old started attaching my name with Mama, I’ll admit I swelled with pride. He was playing with some stuffed animals, a bigger one and smaller one. He decided the bigger one would be the mama and therefore he would name it “Alyssa,” because that’s what his mama was named.
To have my name attached to something so sweet and quite frankly, something that is me to the core, made me feel complete. My son even wanted to name a stuffed animal after me, an honour that brought tears to my eyes. Alyssa|daughter|teacher|wife – and now Mama, recognized by one of the people who made me a mom.
Just as we describe a rose as smelling sweet, I want to be recognized as a mom. We want our names to be attached to us, but more than that we want our names to bring to mind our good qualities.
My name, like yours, is an identity. In a world of millions of people, it is how people know us. And when they hear our name, we want them to know our identity. Not just our faces and where we come from but who we are.
Who does God say I am? Share these scriptures with a friend to remind them of God’s promises!
Who Does God Say I Am?
I’ve talked about this before, that we need to find our identity through Christ. Especially in motherhood, if we find ourselves asking “Who Am I?” we need to turn to God for the answer.
Who does God say I am? Who does He say you are? Let me help you out with some scriptures to get you started.
You Are a Child of God
“Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” – John 1:12
“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” – Romans 8:16
You Are Chosen and Loved
“For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ…” – Ephesians 1:4-5
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23
You Are Forgiven and Redeemed
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” – Ephesians 1:7
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” – Psalm 103:12
You Are Strong in Christ
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” – 2 Timothy 1:7
You Are God’s Masterpiece
“For we are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:10
“For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” – Psalm 139:13-14
Who does God say I am? Scriptures to remind you who God says you are!
Your Identity in God
God knew your name before you were born. He created you to be His own and therefore attached all these descriptors to you.
Your name is important because of who calls you by that name. Your family, your friends and God. More than that, when God thinks of your name He thinks about how you are His masterpiece, how strong you are, how you have been forgiven, how you are called and how loved you are.
God made roses smell sweet for a reason. He doesn’t ask them to worry about anything other than the beauty He created them for. He asks the same of us.
Who am I? What is in a name? Your identity that God has given you; that is who God says you are.
For more encouragement, grab my devotional “Consider the Wildflowers,” available on Amazon.
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