“Israel is my son, even my firstborn.” (Exodus 4:22)

“For I am married unto you.” (Jeremiah 3:14)

One of the first things we learn as a young child is our name. Even pets learn to recognize their names. Names call us into relationship with others. Names anchor us to families and places.

Names are powerful.

Names are markers of identity that sometimes signify a change in relationship, identity, meaning, or mission.

When some of you married, your name changed. Some wives will take the surnames of their husbands. Today, some husbands will also take the surnames of their wives. Why? Because that name signifies that you are now a part of your spouses’s identity too. Something about you has changed, and you are now embarking on a new life within a new relationship, and new context. Your com…