What’s in a Name?

By Joe Sullivan, MJ • Phoenix, AZ

A few days ago, I picked up Sarah and her two-year-old to take them to an appointment. The little boy was extremely curious and friendly. Sarah said she recently went through a divorce and is raising her son alone with some help from her mother. “I am learning to read, too,” she said. “I never got a chance to learn because I got into drugs early in life.” I was impressed at her determination to turn her life around. 

“Israel is his name,” she said as her boy looked out the car window watching the colors of a decorated Mexican restaurant flash by. I asked her if she knew what the name meant. She didn’t know, so I told her the story of Jacob, son of Isaac, and how he fought with God, and God changed his name. “Wow! God has really blessed me,” she told me, and I saw in the rearview mirror a tear welling in the corner of her eye. “I really need to learn to read now so I can read the story myself,” she said. 

A few weeks earlier I had met Esther. While driving to her appointment, I asked if she knew what her name meant. She didn’t know, so I proceeded to tell her how Esther saved the Jewish people from imminent massacre by the King of Babylon. 

Like Sarah, Esther had told me she is going to start reading the Bible now. 

There are so many people these days who don’t know the Bible. Telling them these true stories made them come to life and they were able to see how relevant they are to their own lives. We just need to go out there, not be shy, show interest in others, and strike up conversations. 

And then let the Spirit of God do the rest.