New Name

What is in a name? Our name is tied to our identity. It's part of who we are. As we go through life, we take on other names. We start to find our identity in other things. We name ourselves by our talents or likes.  Some of us are athletes, artists, animal lovers, academic. We refer to ourselves in our roles at work or in our families. We are friends, spouses, parents. Some of us find our identity in our sin or struggles. We think of ourselves as addicts, survivors, victims. 

What does the gospel have to say about our identity?  The Gospel does not just clean us up. God doesn't help us perfect our current identity, helping us to be the best we can be. The Gospel gives us a whole new identity. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (I Corinthians 5:7).

We have new names. Because of the gospel, I am not defined by my sin or the sin done against me. I am not known by my failure. The most important thing about me isn't that I'm a mom or a wife, that I'm a social worker or that I love sports. The most important thing about me is that I belong to God. I have a new identity.

God has given me a new name. I am His. God has now given us the incredible privelage of giving a little boy a new name. We have chosen to name him Kai, which means Victory in Chinese. Our hearts desire in this entire journey of infertility and adoption is that we would know more deeply and exclaim the truth that Hope wins. No matter what hurt, loss, sorrow we face, because of the Gospel, Hope wins. It will always win. 

At times, Kai will be tempted to feel defined by his past. He may think of himself as abandoned, unwanted, unloved. Even at his sweet, young age, the loss he has experienced will speak to him. We will remind him of the incredible love God has for him. We will be able to remind him that he has a new name. Because of Christ's victory over sin and death, Hope wins. Hope will win for Kai.