Thoughtful Thursday 

What’s In a Name?

Recently I attended the funeral of one of my cousins. I didn’t know him very well, but I remember when we were both children, and his family would visit us from time to time, or perhaps, we would visit them. Some time later, he moved to another state, and we lost touch. I have a whole group of cousins that I only see at funerals, and occasionally at a family reunion. 

At this particular funeral, I was going around and talking to the ones that I knew, and introducing myself to the ones that I didn’t. While deep in conversation with a sweet cousin that I remembered, a man and his daughter walked up to us. He looked so familiar, but I just couldn’t remember his name. I recalled that we had talked at another funeral some time back.

“Are you Adam?” I asked. “No,” he replied, “I’m Jason.” He grinned, and went on to say, “And you’re Mary Jenkins!” I was impressed that he remembered my name. “Do you know how I know that? Well, Elvis Presley’s cook was named Mary Jenkins. You have the same name as Elvis Presley’s cook!” (It’s true…I looked it up).

Well, I was pretty proud! I felt like somebody! I told him that I thought I would brag about it!

Later, I began to think about the significance that our names hold. Then, I quickly thought that there is one Name above all others. I was reminded of a hymn that we used to sing:

“Jesus, Name above all names,
Beautiful Savior, glorious Lord,
Emmanuel, God is with us,
Blessed redeemer, Living Word.”

The hymn has such a sweet and soothing melody, that I sometimes just want to sing it over and over again. It has such a calming effect, and makes me feel closer to the Lord.

One of my favorite scriptures, often read at Christmas time, is from Isaiah 9:6…

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be on His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

May you have that peace today. May you take the time to call upon His Name!

Have a great Thursday! For some reason, I think I’ll go make a peanut butter and banana sandwich.