What's in a Name?

My grandfather was the 13th child born into his family, and he always told us grandchildren that his parents ran out of names, so they only gave him one name. Often someone would ask him his name and he would tell them, “Howard Cox.” Then they would ask him to state his whole name, and he would reply, “Just Howard Cox.” And that’s exactly how some officials would record his name “Just Howard Cox” because the forms had to be completed and one must have two names to properly do so.

When I was an adolescent, my grandfather taught me that the most important thing about a person’s name is the character that is associated with that name. Today, years after his death, we are reminded of a kind, soft spoken, gentle man who loved the name of Jesus Christ above all other names.

Sitting and chatting or walking in the woods with my grandfather, I learned something as a boy that helped me through those value-forming adolescent years and something that continues to mold my life today: a person who claims the name of Christ in his life as a Christian cannot be involved in questionable activities. Temptations abound for all of us, and we are masterful at convincing our conscience that something we want to do is acceptable.

To my grandfather, decisions were easy when you based them on the scripture. Let everyone who claims the name of the Lord stay away from anything that is questionable.