“Out of the ground the Lord God formed every
beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see
what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that
was its name” (Genesis 1:19 KJV)
Naming
is a common human phenomenon and a prominent part of biblical narrative. The
naming ceremonies of newly born children are usually joyful and prayerful
occasions. In the creation story, God
delegated the responsibility of naming all the animals to Adam. “And whatever Adam called each living creature,
that was its name.” Some scholars
believe that it was through the power conferred by God on Adam to name the
animals in Eden that human beings gained dominion over them. The power of
naming confers identity to what or who is named and sometimes describe their characters.
Here are a few examples. After Jacob deceived Isaac to collect the blessing of
the first born, Esau commented about Jacob, “And
Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two
times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my
blessing!”... (Genesis 27:36 NKJV). Abigail said of her husband, “...For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is
his name, and folly is with him!...” (1 Samuel 25:25 NKJV). When Jacob was returning to the Promised Land
from Laban, he wrestled with an Angel all night and demanded a blessing before
he could let the Angel go. The Angelic blessing included the change of Jacob’s
name. “So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” And He said,
“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled
with God and with men, and have prevailed” (Genesis 32:27-28 NKJV). A name
confers identity, describes character, and communicates destiny.
The
Igbo has a proverb, which says that one is like the name he bears. Francis
Bacon was credited to have popularised the saying, “... there is power in
naming things.” A popular Chinese
proverbs holds that “the beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right
names.” What cannot be identified by a name is deemed not to exist. Hence, when
God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and commissioned him to go and lead
the children of Israel out of Egypt, Moses asked for God’s name. “Then
Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to
them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What
is His name?’ what shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.”
And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me
to you” (Exodus 3:13 -14 NKJV).
Human
beings do not only name things and people. We name ideas and projects. Something becomes real the moment you give it
a name. A book takes a clearer shape in
your mind the moment you give it a title because naming clarifies your thinking
and concretises an idea. It came to me
this morning while in prayer that I should name my year. Here then is a question for you: if God gives you,
the right to name this year and that whatever name you give to it will
translate into your actual experience, what would you call it? This is a
serious business going by what we have just learnt about the power of names. The
name you give the year should capture your greatest expectations of the
year. Here are some of the questions
that will help you get a good name for your year. What do you want this year to
bring to you? What would give you the
greatest joy and fulfilment if it happens in your life this year? How would you like to be described by the end
of this year? In choosing a name to give the year, look for a word or phrase
that paints the clearest picture in your mind of what you desire.
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