"What's in a Name? A Lot.

"And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin." (Gen. 35:18)

Fast forward in Jacob's life to the death of his wife Rachel. There was no one on earth that Jacob loved more than Rachel. You remember when her father had tricked him by giving him her older sister Leah after seven years of servitude to him, he willingly worked seven more for Rachel. He dearly loved her. And her dying request was that their son be named "Ben-oni", but Jacob refused. What in the world would cause Jacob to deny his beloved's dying request?

Could it be that Jacob well understood the power of a name? He had probably fought often during his childhood as others made fun of his name. He was called "a cheat". Look at his life and notice how many times he had lived up to that name. Tricking his brother out of his birthright. Tricking his father to bless him instead of Esau.

Ben-oni means 'son of my sorrow' and Jacob well knew the power of the name and did not want his son growing up under that label. So instead he named him "Benjamin" which means 'son of the right hand," a far nobler name.

Sometimes we say, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.' But that is simply not true. Words have in them the power of life and death the writer of Proverbs declared. So what is in a name? The power to determine a life. When a person takes the name Christian because they choose to follow Jesus, we should understand the power of that name. It is the name above every other name, the Bible says. If it is genuine and real faith, the power of the name Christian is the power of a transformed life.