<Your Name Here>

Most of us have answered questions on various forms requiring our name and address and other personal information. Some multi-page legal documents require our signature “here,” “here,” and “here”! Our name is part of our identity.

A famous line from William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet is: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” That may be true of a flower, but the name of a person really does matter, with all due respect to Mr. Shakespeare. A person’s name represents who they are. The Hebrew word for name means “an appellation, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character.” Our name represents these things about us, so, there is quite a lot in a name.

God let Adam name the animals (Genesis 2:19). He also named his wife who God made for him out of Adam’s rib. Eve means “life, or living,” because she was the “mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20). What a wonderment it will be to Eve when she finds out that billions of great-grandchildren descended from her! What a big photo that would be, and can you imagine the extent of the family tree?

We should all have a unique name, held alone by us and nobody else. But if you do an Internet search on your own name, you will probably find a number of other people who share your name, perhaps much to your chagrin. And we certainly don’t want anyone to steal our identity, misrepresent us, or perpetrate anything in our name.

Perhaps you have made a reservation only to be stopped upon arrival and shown at the reservation desk that your name is not on the list! Or worse, someone has already taken your reservation by assuming your name—claiming to be you and stealing it. What a disheartening and angering thing to do to someone!

Some have had the misfortune of having their identity stolen. Someone assumed their name, violating their identity and even stealing property that belonged to them. What a devastating impact that has on a person!

Parents are responsible for their children’s existence, so on every continent and in every nation, parents claim a right to name their kids. Parents provide and care for their children (at least they should, under every common sense understanding of being a parent). Caring for children requires a huge investment in food, clothing, shelter, nurturing, and education.

God changed the names of many of His servants (Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, etc.) and He will do so again. Many are unaware that the Almighty God will give each person ultimately born into His Family a new name. We will not only be given the family name (Ephesians 3:15; Revelation 3:12) much like our having a surname, but we will also have our own unique “given” name (Revelation 2:17). What a remarkable thing to be given the family name of the Almighty God, and to have Him give us our own unique “given” name! How utterly awesome will that be?

When it comes to having “a reservation,” did you know that we can have our name on the most important “reservation list”? This reservation list is far more important than any earthly reservation list, far better than the most prestigious, elite list on earth. There is no more important place to have our name recorded than in God’s Book of Life (Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 17:8).

Having our name in the Book of Life is incredibly important. So should be our resolve to keep <our name here> in that registry. No one can erase our name but Jesus Christ, which He won’t do to those who commit to living His Way and follow through with faith (Revelation 3:5).

To learn more about that way of life, read the booklets What Is A True Christian? and The Ten Commandments, available right here at TomorrowsWorld.org.