WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

I have insisted that my name should be Lengdung, even for those who cannot pronounce it. My English name has been abandoned by me. Only two people stuck to it, the woman who gave it to me (my mother’s friend) and Blossom Gushe (crush), the only person who makes the name interesting. Only two of them have gained sufficient right to use that, and that’s because their reason is sufficient. The funny thing is that I have never checked the meaning of the name. I may never check till I leave this earth.

I have had to send the pronunciation of the name to people from afar, to others, I’ve had to take them through drills in order to get the pronunciation right. The name is important to me. It gives me an identity. My name is who I am. It affects my perception of what I am here to do on earth.

Names are not just letters, they are Words. They are the pronouncement of what we are expected to be. Names carry weight.

Jacob had lived his entire live showcasing the full meaning of his name “deceiver”, on that night, when he wrestled with the Angel of God, the only thing the Angel did for him was to change his name. Don’t forget that Jacob had asked him “I will never let you go unless you bless me”.

So in essence, the blessing was hidden in the name.

And truly, Jacob lived to be “Israel”.

God called Abraham out, and when it was time to bless him, God changed his name.

When Jesus met Simon Peter, his name was simply Simon but Jesus added Peter to it, meaning “The Rock”. He was further told that “On this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”.

When Benjamin was born, “Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath, she named the baby Ben-oni (which means "son of my sorrow"). The baby's father, however, called him Benjamin (which means "son of my right hand").”

The father, Israel, who had an understanding of the power in names insisted that the child cannot bear such a title. He himself knew how his name had to be changed.

During the time of the slave trade, one key component of slave masters is that they changed the names of the slaves to ones that pleased them. In doing so, they made the slaves lose their identity. 

When you lose the meaning of yourself, your end isn’t far. Those tactics are not new.

It was the same thing King Nebuchadnezzar did with Daniel and His friends. And did you notice that immediately after changing their names, the king ordered his stewards to teach them the system, literature, and way of life of the Babylonians? It was all a calculated effort. There was no mistake there.

Reading the Bible further, the book of Chronicles tells us genealogies. Chapter four especially should not have space to include what was included in 9-11, we are told “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, "Because I bore him with pain." Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!" Jabez understood that his identity had to change. And pray he did.

Another strange encounter with the name issue was Gideon when the Angel appeared to Gideon, he told him (Gideon) “The Lord is with you, O Champion”. (other versions carry Mighty Man of valor). God called him, the least of his family “A Champion”.

And to our Lord, the Bible says “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.”

You are to call him……..

His name was his calling. His name carried his identity. Hidden in his name was his destiny.

Josiah was called by his name even before he was born, Cyrus was called by his name even before he was born. Names are not just letters chosen to represent the human being born. Names are pointers to certainly hidden mysteries about the person who bears them.

God told Jeremiah “I called you….”

Cartoons have repeatedly told us this message but we are too swift to observe their meanings. We are in a haste to watch the next on the list. Often times, the protagonist would be lost, facing a major challenge, it will appear as though there is no way out, then he/she begins to reminisce over his name, he/she remembers words that were spoken of him/her and soon he is doing the task that he once thought impossible.

Your name is your identity, your call, and it carries what you represent in it.

“Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.”

In our words, in our pronouncement, we make things happen.

My name is Lengdung, it means “Reasoning Too Much”.

What is your name? And what does that mean to you?

Date: October 2017.