The times they are a changin’! I was writing Sunday morning
on a new storyline and wanted to research a name for a new character. Choosing
character names is important. I went online to one of those baby name sites;
they give you many to choose from plus the definition and origin of most names.
I don’t frequent these sites, for all the obvious reasons, but have utilized
them when naming characters over the years. I have to say, though it has not
been a long time since my last visit, the names have changed a great deal. No
longer will you find the usual suspects but a vast array of international and
cultural name to boot.
To name a few, I found names with origins in Arabic, Sanskrit,
Hindu, Persian, Egyptian, and Muslim among the usual English, French, American Indian,
Hebrew and Spanish…and this was all on the first page of names starting with an
‘S’. This was new to me. At first glance I was almost shocked. Perhaps it was
the vast amount of names I struggled to pronounce or just the amazing change
from my last visit, I don’t know, but I have to admit it caught me off guard.
Then there it was, the ‘holy tap’ with a simple question. “Why
are you amazed when you know God has a global vision?” Yep, good question.
Thanks for the reminder, Lord.
I have written and taught about expanding our vision to a
global perspective to see other cultures and people groups as God sees them.
They are all His creation, too, and Scripture says we are to spread the gospel
of Jesus to every creature and nation (whether we can pronounce their names or
not).
Once the initial shock wore off I was proud to see the names mingled and
listed as a symbol of progress in bringing all the people of the world together
with equal status, as we are in God’s eyes, even if it was just on a list of
baby names. It’s a start and every journey begins with the first step.
There was a time when baby names were chosen for their
meaning, not just because someone liked the sound of it or because it was popular
or the name of a movie star or cartoon character. Names had significance. I don’t know why the Lord chose this lesson at
this time but He has His reasons. Maybe, just maybe, He was making a point to
me about the significance of all his people together.
Isn’t just like God
to use the foolish things of this world, like naming a fictitious character, to
bring a point before our eyes?
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