What's in a Name?

Shakespeare wrote, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” The great bard was expressing the idea that what matters is what something is, not what something is called. However, we also know that what a person is called can have a great impact on how that person views himself.

When Jacob’s wife, Rachel, was giving birth to their second born son, complications arose. It became evident that her life was ebbing away, even as the newborn was taking his first breath. As a result, she proposed to call the child by the name “Ben-Oni,” which means “son of my sorrow.” His father, however, chose to give him a different name, Benjamin, meaning “son of my right hand” or “son of my strength.”

Think of the difference this made in this young man’s life. Whenever his name was called, instead of being reminded that his birth brought the sorrow of his mother’s passing, he was reminded that his father considered him his “right hand man.”

As we take the good news of Christ to the prison population, we are letting these men and women know that they don’t have to live under the name of “convict” or “offender” or “criminal.” Once adopted into God’s family they can bear the name “child of God.” They don’t have to live down to the names they may have been called in the past, but they can live up to the new name they have in Christ! This can change the way a prisoner views himself. Come to think of it—this can change the way we look at ourselves, too.