NAME

Genesis 5:29 He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.”

Have you ever wondered what your name means? Have you ever wondered if you would ever actually be the person that your name says you are? In many cultures today and especially in ancient times your name spoke volumes about who you were or were supposed to be.

Native American tribes have some fascinating naming traditions. The Mohegans believed that a person’s name would change throughout their life according to the direction their life took and their experiences; their name should reflect that change. Members of the Dakota tribes received a secret spiritual name that no one else knew except the witch doctor and the individual. Sitting Bull is perhaps one of the most storied Native Americans of the Lakota tribes of the North. He led his people to victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn against General George Custer in 1876. He even toured with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show as a performer. Before all this, he was a boy with a different name. Sitting Bull’s name before it was Sitting Bull was Jumping Badger. His name was changed by his father after he displayed bravery and courage in the company of other warriors during a raid.

The native tribes of early America had a profound understanding of the importance of a name. Your name says something about you. Your name tells people who you are. Your name may make a statement about your future destiny. Jumping badger seems appropriate for a little Lakota boy running around the tribal land. Sitting Bull says something about the will of a Lakota man.

We carry names too. Some names are playful like a nickname You may have because of something you did, or something you have a tendency to do (or not do).Some names remind us of our past, good or bad. Some names direct us toward the future. The native Americans knew something that many of us forget, names don’t have to be permanent. We sometimes find ourselves bearing the weight of a name we were never meant to carry, hoping for a way to change the name we have been given. We carry the name “Victim” and hope for “Victor”; we carry “Looser and hope for the name “Achiever”. One of the core values of grace is that nothing has to be permanent.

Jumping Badger's name became Sitting Bull after a display of bravery.What is your "name"? What key moments have defined you, made you who you are? What achievements do you hold up for everyone to see? What losses do you hide? Nothing has to define you... name you for ever. 

Just a meandering thought...