If Anyone Is In Christ

Your Daddy loves to tell this story. Not long after I met him, before he even said he liked me, I was signing a check at the bank when I realized I accidentally signed it Jill Zimanek. A friend who was with me saw the error and said, "Oooo, I'm telling." I have no idea why I signed the check that way. It wasn't like I'd practiced. It just flowed out. A Freudian slip perhaps? I was so embarrassed. I tore up the check and started again.

Of course, here I am all these years later signing everything Jill Zimanek, so perhaps it was just a premonition of things to come. When Jadoosh visited he commented that he didn't understand how a woman could let go of her last name when she got married. He asked, "But don't you lose your identity?" I assured him that I certainly hadn't lost my identity. I knew exactly who I was and where I came from. Then he asked about pride in my maiden name, Lauritzen. Well, of course, I like that name. It was my father's name and is still part of who I am, but I don't believe taking my sweet husband's surname meant I lost my identity. Instead, it let's everyone know to whom I belong.

Different cultures handle that different ways. Some men take the woman's last name. Some folks hyphenate (imagine Lauritzen-Zimanek! Sheesh). Some drop their middle name and place their maiden name there. Some folks never take their husband's name. I know of a woman and man who created their own last name rather than take each others. Guess you could combine the letters. Daddy and I could have been the Lauritizimaneks.Or smooshed our letters up to be the Amizzileekanurts or the Kreemitannulzzans. Yeah, see Zimanek by itself is so much better.

God puts a lot of stock in names. Their meaning is of great importance repeatedly in the Bible. Jesus means "Yahweh saves," Abraham means "Father of Many Nations," and Israel means "Struggles with God." Every time one of Jacob's sons were named, there was a meaning behind it.

Jill means "Youthful," Elizabeth (my middle name) means "God satisfies" or "Oath of God." Lauritzen means son of Laurit (which in turn means "lauryls," a symbol of victory). Zimanek means Simon's son, and Simon means "Hear" or "Listen." So the meaning of my full name "Youthful God Satisfies Victorious Hear. Deep.

Here's the thing though, my identity really isn't in my name. It's Who I belong to. "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation.The old has gone. The new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17) I am a new creation in Christ. No matter whether you call me Mom, Jill, Pumpkin, Precious, Jillbeth, Jilly, Sissypoo, Jill Elizabeth, Aunt Bib, Mrs. Zimanek, Mrs. Jill ... I am still a Christian. And to me that is the most important identity of all.

Names are important. And the meaning behind them, likewise. But our identity ... that comes in Christ. 

Discussion: What does your name mean? What are some names you go by? Are name meanings important to you? What is important to you about your identity?

Prayer: Father, we thank You for the names we have. We thank You for the new creation you have made us, thanks to Your Son, Jesus Christ. Lord, may we live up to the identity we have in Him. In His name we pray, Amen.