A New Name

Kurt Strassner states,“A new name is almost always the symbol of a new beginning” (Kurt Strassner, Opening up Genesis, Opening up the Bible [Leominster: Day One Publications, 2009], 129). Strassner tells the following story: “Some time ago, some friends of mine traveled to Siberia to finalize the adoption of a little Russian boy. The process had dragged on for well over a year, during which time they had filled out hundreds of pages of paperwork, made two trips to Russia, spent thousands of dollars, shed many tears, and prayed every day … until, finally, we received a short email that began like this: ‘Well, it’s official! We are now three. Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Mechev is now Edmond Aleksandr Huffman.’ Why do you suppose they began their email that way? Why not simply say, ‘The adoption went through’ or ‘Edmond is ours’? Why make their friends attempt to pronounce all those names? Because names are important; and because the changing of a name is especially important! In this case, little Edmond’s new name symbolized that he had new parents, a new home, a new family, and a brighter future.”