My name is what?

-CoNnEcT- Ever watch that VH1 special on celebrity baby names? The rich and famous come up with the wierdest names and don't hold back when it comes to starting a new trend...

There was a time when we thought names like "Mary Christmas" were strange, but now, those are nothing compared to Hollywoods creative construction of an identity:

Apple- Gwenyth Paltrow
Coco- David and Courtney Cox Arquette
Denim- Toni Braxton
Jermajesty- Jermaine Jackson
Puma- Erykah Badu

Then you've got names like "dixie dot, Banjo, Kyd and Audio Science..."
Overall, these probably aren't topping the charts for "most popular name of the year."

-ReFlEcT- Read Matthew Chapter 1

Key Verses: 18-23

The chapter opens with the whole Histroy of Jesus' family...a bunch of names we probably don't take too much time to study, until we get to JESUS. In MAry and Joseph's day, the naming of a child was a MAJOR event. The name given to a child was a reflection of his status, as well as a projection of his identity. They didn't serach for the wierdest name, nor did they want to come up with the most unique, the focus was on how the name could summarize you as a person.

Mary and Joseph probably didn't spend too much time dwelling on the name when God himself made it clear that the child shall be named "Jesus" because he would save people from thier sins. Jesus was a name that came from "Yeshua" which meant "Yahweh (God) is my salvation." We read later a prophecy said a child would be born and called "Emmanuel" which means "God with us."

It goes without saying that Jesus lived up to the identity that came with his name. He certainly saved (and still saves) people from thier sins, and in more than one way, he became "God with us." The primary way, of course, is that he became human and walked among us...He is the one who bridges the gap between us and God, and makes it possible for God to be with us, even though we are all sinners, that are seperated from God by that sin.

The whole process of selecting the name of a child that would save the world wasn't one to be taken lightly, and certainly ended up being the perfect name...Jesus lived up to his identity.

-DiReCt- So what about us? Do we live up to our identity? I don't mean according to your birth name (even if you wish your name was Coco!) We're talking about the name "Christian."

We respect people with titles like Dr. or President, or other things and we trust that those titles will be what the person is....we want our Doctor to live up to that and be a good Doctor! So why should it be different for Christians? The title of "christian" means to be "Christ like."

-In what ways are you christ like?
-Are there areas of your life that could lead people to believe you are not who you say you are?
-Write down one way where you could improve your identity as a christian and try to work on it this week!

God, help us to be who you want us to be. Teach us what it means to be a Christian and to act like Jesus. Sometimes it's hard, and there are days when we would rather do things our own way, but we want to live up to the title we carry...we want to be like you. Amen.