New Name

“The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.  3You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.  4No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate.  But you will be called Hephzibah and your land Beulah; for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married.”  -  Isaiah 62:2-4

We’re all given names, whether Caleb or Ashley, Jacob or Kayla.  We inherit names from our parents: Jones, Smith, or Finklestein.  Some of us go by nicknames.  A few even officially change their names. 

Later, most of us get names from the kid down the street, a careless parent, a harsh teacher, a classmate.  They might call you Loser, Fat, Ugly, Stupid, Nerd, or many others.  Maybe it’s Unwanted, Not Good Enough, Broken, Worthless; the names no one ever actually says but are scratched on your heart through your life.  Maybe we’re named by our sin and our shame: Addict, Lustful, Liar, or Drunk. They begin to define our lives much more than our real names do. 

I’m adopted.  A baby given up for adoption has no family, no home, no money, no hope.  And definitely no name.  But a loving couple entered that equation and told me that it didn’t matter what other people thought or said.  It didn’t matter if they thought I had no home and no hope. 

My parents had chosen me.  In one moment, I changed from being Unloved to being Loved, from being Unwanted to being Chosen, from being an Inconvenience to being Desired, from having no family to being an Agnew, from having no name to being Todd.  My parents paid a few thousand dollars to give me my name and my home.  God sent His Son to die on a cross for my mistakes so I could be bought.  People may have called you whatever they wanted, but God now calls you Child.  You now bear His name, the name of Christ-ian.  You are no longer Desolate, but you are called Hephzibah.  Now you may think that you would want to change your name if you had that one, but your new name, Hephzibah, means the Lord delights in you.
 

Check out “New Name at www.myspace.com/toddagnew