And He said "I AM"
Despite what Shakespeare seemed to think, names have a lot of power. It's why the parents of a child first learning to speak are so excited when the first word out of their babies mouth even somewhat resembles ma or da. It's why people choose to take the name of their partner, or to abandon it during a divorce. It's why, when spoken by a loved one, the sound of your name can touch your heart. Names allow us to show our connections to one another, and in doing so, they can hold love, hate, joy, and grief.
According to one list I found online, the Bible contains more than 450 names for God. Even if you take out the repeats- things like Jesus and Jesus Christ, for example- you still end up with more than 425 different names. Some of these come close to being "real" names. Jesus is one, El Shaddai (God Almighty) is another. Most of them, though, are simply descriptions or roles of what God does. The Lord, Christ, Counselor, King, Prince of Peace, the Author and Finisher of our faith, the bright and morning star.
I've used a lot of names and descriptions for God in my life. Father has been a common one for me, probably because I have had an amazing example of what a good father is in my life, thanks to my dad. Friend and brother are two others. Protecter has been important to me, and the idea that goes along with the phrase "author and finisher of my faith" is amazing to my heart.
Not that I've always used uplifting and positive images of God in my faith life. Seeing God as ompipotent and omnipresent has been frightening to me at times, as has the idea of His judgement. To be fair, though, most of that came because of how other people taught me to see God rather than from my own heart.
When I was younger, I used to imagine myself as a very small child, almost an infant, wrapped in a blanket, resting in the arms of God. That image felt safer to me than anything else I could imagine. These days, the presence of God feels more like a hand on my arm, leading me, and guiding me closer to the Spirit.
I'm sure that some of these images will be very familiar to you. Others may be unique only to me. Either way, it's in no way an exhaustive list of even how I have seen God in my life. I don't have the words or the knowledge to describe how others see and relate to Him.
Why so many names, though? Why appear in so many lights? The first answer is that human nature just can't contain God. When Moses asked for God's name, He got the response I AM. From what I've read, this would be better translated into " I is" or "I be". God just is. Let's be honest, though. That's just hard to understand, if not weird to think about. So instead, God gets lots of names, because that's the closest we can come to containing Him in some way. I'm sure we don't even come close.
The answer that rings true to me, though, is a little different. There are billions of people on this earth. Each person has a distinct personality, and even when we have traits that overlap, not everything does. Not all of those billions of people see the world in the same way. We all have different struggles, and different joys. We all need different things from our friends and our familites. It stands to reason that we're all going to need different things from God as well.
And there's this other amazing name for God- love. God is love. Because God is love, and because He loves all of us unconditionally and without exception, He wants to reach us. He wants to have a real relationship with us all, and that requires a lot of different roles. In my mind, God has so many names because He has so many of us to touch. He's going to take every path He can find to get to us, and if that means letting us 425 plus names for Him, it's a small price to pay.
What an amazing thought that is. God will take any path He can to get to me. He made sure that someone, somewhere in the past, wrote the words "author and finisher of our faith", and He made sure I had the opportunuity to read them. He left a path for me straight to Him. And He does it for every single one of us. Every time we miss a turn, He adds another. He'll keep doing it, too, as long as there are people who need Him.
According to one list I found online, the Bible contains more than 450 names for God. Even if you take out the repeats- things like Jesus and Jesus Christ, for example- you still end up with more than 425 different names. Some of these come close to being "real" names. Jesus is one, El Shaddai (God Almighty) is another. Most of them, though, are simply descriptions or roles of what God does. The Lord, Christ, Counselor, King, Prince of Peace, the Author and Finisher of our faith, the bright and morning star.
I've used a lot of names and descriptions for God in my life. Father has been a common one for me, probably because I have had an amazing example of what a good father is in my life, thanks to my dad. Friend and brother are two others. Protecter has been important to me, and the idea that goes along with the phrase "author and finisher of my faith" is amazing to my heart.
Not that I've always used uplifting and positive images of God in my faith life. Seeing God as ompipotent and omnipresent has been frightening to me at times, as has the idea of His judgement. To be fair, though, most of that came because of how other people taught me to see God rather than from my own heart.
When I was younger, I used to imagine myself as a very small child, almost an infant, wrapped in a blanket, resting in the arms of God. That image felt safer to me than anything else I could imagine. These days, the presence of God feels more like a hand on my arm, leading me, and guiding me closer to the Spirit.
I'm sure that some of these images will be very familiar to you. Others may be unique only to me. Either way, it's in no way an exhaustive list of even how I have seen God in my life. I don't have the words or the knowledge to describe how others see and relate to Him.
Why so many names, though? Why appear in so many lights? The first answer is that human nature just can't contain God. When Moses asked for God's name, He got the response I AM. From what I've read, this would be better translated into " I is" or "I be". God just is. Let's be honest, though. That's just hard to understand, if not weird to think about. So instead, God gets lots of names, because that's the closest we can come to containing Him in some way. I'm sure we don't even come close.
The answer that rings true to me, though, is a little different. There are billions of people on this earth. Each person has a distinct personality, and even when we have traits that overlap, not everything does. Not all of those billions of people see the world in the same way. We all have different struggles, and different joys. We all need different things from our friends and our familites. It stands to reason that we're all going to need different things from God as well.
And there's this other amazing name for God- love. God is love. Because God is love, and because He loves all of us unconditionally and without exception, He wants to reach us. He wants to have a real relationship with us all, and that requires a lot of different roles. In my mind, God has so many names because He has so many of us to touch. He's going to take every path He can find to get to us, and if that means letting us 425 plus names for Him, it's a small price to pay.
What an amazing thought that is. God will take any path He can to get to me. He made sure that someone, somewhere in the past, wrote the words "author and finisher of our faith", and He made sure I had the opportunuity to read them. He left a path for me straight to Him. And He does it for every single one of us. Every time we miss a turn, He adds another. He'll keep doing it, too, as long as there are people who need Him.
Comment
-
Comment by bruce metcalf on July 24, 2009 at 5:14am -
we also have many names ,,father ,husband ,grandfather or in my case "bumpa" , and even our given name but the most important name we have is "child of God"!!
the rest just pales to that one !!!
bruce
About
The Initiative
This site is a place for sharing all that is happening across the ELCA in relation to the Book of Faith Initiative.
To get started in your congregation, use the Book of Faith assessment tool.
To get started in your congregation, use the Book of Faith assessment tool.
Stay Informed
Book of Faith is an ongoing initiative of the ELCA that will grow and develop—including resource options for you and your congregation. Be the first to know about upcoming resources and sign up for Book of Faith resource eUpdates.
Find Synod Advocates
Looking for your Synod Advocate? This Synod Advocate List contains a list of Synod Advocates by region, along with links to each advocate's Book of Faith Social Network profile, and links to synod groups on the Book of Faith Social Network.
© 2009 Created by Book of Faith Social Network on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
You need to be a member of Book of Faith to add comments!
Join this Ning Network