Aubrey, the name my parents gave me, comes from a character in a book and a song by the 1970s band Bread.
Each summer, I’d spend a few weeks in the blazing Texas sun at my grandparents’ house, and on the first day of my arrival, my sweet Papa would announce my entrance by playing “Aubrey” on his record player.
He’d turn up the volume, then sway back and forth while serenading me as I walked through the door — “And Aubrey was her name, a not-so-very ordinary girl or name. But who’s to blame?”
It still makes me smile to think about my grandpa in red suspenders and starched blue jeans, standing by his record player, filled with giddy anticipation as he waited for the perfect moment to place the needle on the record.
This always felt like a twofold miracle — that my name was actually in a song and that someone I adored knew the words.
I heard that song’s refrain in my grandpa’s tenor, and knew immediately that I was welcomed, that I belonged, that I was not only loved but also cherished. I still play it on my own record player every time I miss him.
1. Our Names Can Inspire Us, Giving Us Permission to Be Ourselves
In the ancient world, a person’s name was synonymous with their reputation, and still today, our names, in many ways, dictate who we will become. Perhaps you were named by doting parents who pored over baby books, discovering the perfect one just for you.
Maybe you inherited a family or ancestral name — something strong and rooted in deep meaning. Our names have the potential to help us know who we belong to and that we belong somewhere at all.
2. Our Names Can Hold a Certain Authority, Strength, and Purpose
Of course, we know that is not true of every birthname. Some of us have traumatic name stories — we feel a sense of pain about our name because our family rejected us, and we carry a real or metaphorical sense of being unwanted.
Maybe you don’t really know where your name comes from. Maybe it’s the vestige of a parent you never knew or your family never spoke about its meaning. Maybe you have been forced to change your name due to a painful or scary life circumstance.
3. Our Names Have the Power to Be Badges of Honor or Badges of Heartache
If you are wearing a name that’s been spoken over you or one that you’ve held onto for reasons you don’t understand anymore — my prayer is that the Spirit of God will gently, yet mightily, embolden you to leave that name behind.
The way we do that is by knowing more — not about our names — but about the name and loving work of Jesus.
At the end of the day, only God has the power to name every part of you. His names for you speak the definitive truth over all the other ways you name yourself or the ways you have been named.
But Scripture tells us something else — that Jesus’ name is the Name above all others. Jesus, who is fully God, became fully human so that humanity could be fully restored.
In Jesus, the medium was the message; Jesus — as totally human and totally divine with no division, separation, confusion, or change — makes the way and is the way for us to be reconciled to a divine God.
In Jesus, we find the one name, the true name, the exalted-above-every-other name, the name that holds all things together, the name that has no beginning and no end, and the name that is the beginning and the end.
While most names are a proclamation or a statement of identity, Jesus’ name is the only name that does something — a lot of somethings.
In the name of Jesus, the principalities and powers of evil were demolished, and death was destroyed (Psalm 110:1; Hebrews 2:4-15; 1 John 3:8).
In the name of Jesus, the sinless, spotless lamb of God, the penalty and punishment that brought us peace was placed on him, and “by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
In the name of Jesus, we were ransomed (Mark 10:45).
In the name of Jesus, sin is forgiven (Luke 7:47-48).
In the name of Jesus, we have life (John 20:31).
In the name of Jesus, just as we were all involved in Adam’s sin and its appalling consequences, so we all participate in Jesus’ death and triumph (Romans 5:12-21).
In the name of Jesus, we are made new and reconciled to God, and we become ministers of reconciliation ourselves (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).
In the name of Jesus, we are united with God through the Spirit and able to live like him and have his mindset (Philippians 2:1-5).
In the name of Jesus, every knee will bow down, and every tongue will confess that he, alone, is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11).
In the name of Jesus, we are made holy participants in the divine life (1 Peter 1:16).
In the name of Jesus, the love of God, as seen on the cross, moves us to love God and love others (1 John 4:7-10).
In the name of Jesus, all things are being made new (Revelation 21:5).
Do you see the shockingly massive work of Jesus’ name on your behalf and on the world’s behalf? Jesus paid the price. Jesus took your place. Jesus destroyed death. Jesus conquered Satan.
Jesus sets you free from the personal and cosmic powers of sin. Jesus gives you life and shows you how to live. Jesus is making all things new. What a salvation! What a name!
In the mighty name of Jesus, you have been brought from death to life. In the loving name of Jesus, you live in and under his grace.
In the virtuous name of Jesus, you are an instrument of righteousness. In the victorious name of Jesus, you overcome the enemy, death. In the incomparable name of Jesus, you are made, you are loved, you are named, you are known.
(The above is adapted from Aubrey Sampson’s book Known: How Believing Who God Says You Are Changes Everything, NavPress 2019)
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Javier_Art_Photography
