My heart sank as I listened one afternoon this week to an NPR report about girls in a district of India who were given Hindi names meaning “unwanted.” How sad to spend your childhood years being called a name which tells everyone, “Because I’m a girl, I’m not acceptable. My family let me live, but they did not want me.” Today, however, two hundred eight-five of those girls, in a special re-naming ceremony, chose new names for themselves. They chose the names of stars in the Hindi film industry or goddesses or traditional names with happy meanings like prosperous, beautiful, and good.
That reminds me of Scripture in the Bible which describes the land of Israel. “You'll get a brand-new name straight from the mouth of God. You'll be a stunning crown in the palm of God's hand, a jeweled gold cup held high in the hand of your God. No more will anyone call you Rejected, and your country will no more be called Ruined. You'll be called Hephzibah (My Delight), and your land Beulah (Married), because God delights in you and your land will be like a wedding celebration. (Isaiah 62:2-4) Names described the deplorable condition of the land and the people, but as they turned back to God, He gave them new names which honored them.
Present-day individuals, too, are tagged with undesirable names. Have you ever heard of someone named “Nerd” or “Wimp” or “Dumbo” or “Loser”? We may even name ourselves: “Victim,” “Failure,” or “Stupid.” Those are unhappy appellations to live with, and before long one begins to believe that they must be true. God has a different way of naming; we are wanted by Him, even chosen to be His beloved. Take the new name He offers!
Mary/Martha
Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
Art from http://www.sxc.hu/
