Our daughter’s name is Sherisa but we always called her Sheri. As she approached the teen years she decided she would rather be called Sherisa. It was difficult because all her friends and family knew her as Sheri. Then we moved from Washington to Michigan. No one knew her there so she decided this would be the perfect time to make the change. We family members wanted to be supportive so we set up a system of putting a quarter in a jar each time we called her Sheri. Sherisa got to keep the money. This system worked beautifully. In no time at all everyone was calling her Sherisa.
The leap from Sheri to Sherisa is nothing compared to some name changes. Years before fame and fortune, the famous country music duo Wynonna and Naomi Judd were originally Christina and Diana. When they wanted to make a fresh start Diana changed her name to Naomi after her favorite Bible character and thirteen year old Christina decided to change her name to Wynonna after a city mentioned in a song she liked called Route 66. And did you know Doris Day was really Doris Van Kappelhoff, John Wayne was Marion Morrison, Kirk Douglas was Issur Danielovitch, Roy Rogers was Leonard Slye, and Michael Landon was Eugene Orowitz? The list could go on and on.
God was not beyond changing a few names in the Bible, usually to remind people of the new identity they had in him. Or perhaps to let them know He had something special in mind for them and that He would fulfill what he promised.
For example Abram means “high father,” but God changed it to Abraham meaning “father of multitudes.” (Genesis 17:5) Sarai means “my princess,” but God changed it to Sarah meaning “mother of nations.” (Genesis 17:15) Jacob means “holder of the heel” or “supplanter,” but God changed it to Israel which means “having power with God.” (Genesis 32:28) Simon means “God has heard,” but God also called him Peter meaning “rock” indicating he was helping to lay the foundation for the church. (Matthew 16:18, John 1:42)
Another famous name change was when Saul became Paul. (Acts 13:9) We have no reason given but we do know Paul means “little or small.” Saul was a haughty, proud man, but after his transformation he was a humble servant of God. (Philippians 3:7-11)
Name changes can have a profound effect on people. I recently heard an NPR interview with Father Gregory Boyle founder of Homeboy Industries and author of Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, a compilation of parables resulting from his twenty years of working in the LA barrio with gang members. He said that when kids get inducted into a gang the first thing done is to give them new names such as Scrappy, Speedy, Sniper, Cricket and Bugsy. Gangs know this new name gives them a sense of belonging. These names become their new identities and they write them on walls to acknowledge their existence – sort of making their mark on the world.
Today when we encounter Christ we change our names as well. We call ourselves Christians. Our personal encounter with Christ is just as significant as when God changed the names of those in the Bible. We put off our old identity and take on a new one in Christ. We are not the same person. (2 Corinthians 5:17) We belong to Christ.
Becoming a Christian doesn’t mean others need to put a quarter in a jar when they forget and call us by our old name like our family did with Sherisa. The beauty is that people will automatically get to know our new name. Metaphorically we write it everywhere by the way we live our lives.
