A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Proverbs 22:1

            Most of us have three names. The first two are the names our parents chose for us, and the last one is our family/ancestral name. Our third name tells a lot about us: what family we are from, who our ancestors are, and maybe even our skin color and the country of origin.  If we are male, we will carry that name all our life.  Our third name can be used to dig into our family tree and trace it back a number of generations.  If we do, we may discover both good things and bad things in our ancestors.  Some may have made serious mistakes that caused the ancestral name to be tarnished.  Others made good decisions that caused the name to be honored and something to be proud of. Right now, the only thing we can do to improve our ancestral name isto live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age(Titus 2:12).

            There is, however, another kind of name that we have. It’s the name that we make for ourselves.  If you think of someone that you know, your mind will immediately think of that person’s character and things that person has said or done.  Whether he or she did good or bad things, wise or foolish things, your mind has come up with a name for this person – good, bad, or otherwise. Some may call it a “reputation.” Now, we might say, “It’s not my fault. My mother or father, or wife or husband caused me to be this way.”  The truth of the matter is, however, that we ourselves have made whatever “other name” we have.

            God knows what this other name that we have is. Does it meet His approval?  Does it evidence the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control(Gal. 5:22)?  If not, He can change it from bad to good through His divine grace and power. God can give each of us a name that is worthy of the claim that we are His children.