Naming God
Consider what name would accurately reflected the kind of character God has proved to have in your relationship together. What would your name be then?
1 Samuel 4:20-21
As [Phinehas’s nameless widow] was about to die, the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or give heed. She named the child Ichabod, meaning, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
This nameless woman nonetheless names her son as her dying act. Maybe only because his father and grandfather weren’t alive to do so, but maybe not. Maybe she would have insisted on being the namer even if they had been alive.
The authority to name things - creatures, people, places - is given to all humanity, and there is power in that authority. It lets you call something what it is and to some extent determine its destiny. Ichabod’s name is somewhere between “Defeated” and “God Bailed”. To attach that name to your own son is a power move, which is surprising from this otherwise crowd extra character. It won’t go unnoticed since Ichabod already has the attention of the community, having had Named Characters™ as ancestors, so this naming act is saying something. Something about a mother’s feelings, but also something about the relationship she - and her community - have with God.
Consider what name would accurately reflected the kind of character God has proved to have in your relationship together.
What would your name be then? Is “God Bailed” accurate? Would it be “God Showed Up”? or “God Showed Up Too Late”? What about “God Kills Indiscriminately”? “God Prospers The Undeserving”? or “God Saves”? How did God get that reputation in your esteem?