What's In a Name?

God said to Moses, "I am who I am.". - Exodus 3:14

To the people of Israel, a name was so much more than just an identification for an individual. It was a statement about who that person was. When Moses (whose name means taken from the water) met God for the first time via the burning bush, Moses wanted to know God's name. Moses wanted to know who God was. God's reply was, "I am.". Derived from the Hebrew word to be, this name let Moses know that the One he was speaking to was unlike anyone else. God not only is, but He always was and always will be. God alone was never created, and He exists totally independent from anyone or anything else. "I am" is the One unchanging, eternal God. A constant in our ever-changing lives.

That amazes me.

The Jewish people considered God's name to be so holy that they refused to say it aloud for fear of using it in a way that dishonored Him. (doesn't that just smack you in the face.) In the New Testament, however, Jesus not only spoke God's name, but he also used it to refer to himself. The people listening immediately tried to stone Jesus. They knew God's words in Exodus. They understood that Jesus was calling himself God.

When God told Moses His name, God revealed the essence of who He is- and confirmed in advance that the same essence was in His Son. In the same way that God introduced Himself to Moses, this verse introduces you to God. It assures you that the "I am" of the universe is still alive and fully active today.

Let our actions and words not only introduce people to our character, but may they also see the Shining Light of Christ in us always.

Love,

Laura Lee