What’s in a name?

For all my life I have always been called by my middle name, Krister, until I moved to the USA. Here the government, medical agencies, banks, etc., always refer to me by my first name. The fact that my first name (Jan) often is taken as a female name doesn’t help when people notice a male person responding.

God has been called many names over time. I would think that Moses was expecting something other than “I AM WHO I AM” when asking what God’s name was. It doesn’t sound like a god’s name, after all. But I wonder if that is the very essence of God’s name, that it doesn’t sound like a “god name,” that it isn’t gender specific. Instead it is a name that has no boundaries, which helps us understand that God has no boundaries.

Isn’t that a grace-filled moment, to realize that we can’t peg God to a box of limitations by putting a label such as a name on God? What a freeing moment it is that God has no boundaries. That God’s grace abounds! “I AM WHO I AM.”

What name for God helps you in your faith journey?

Lord God, we lift up your name, knowing that you are there, no matter what we call you. Amen. — JKU