Sons of Thunder

I was reflecting last night on Jesus' habit of renaming his disciples, specifically James and John. "The Sons of Thunder." Images of great band names and NASCAR commercials come to mind. But really, the name is inspiring, isn't it? How great would it be, how excited would it make you, how courageous would you feel, if the son of the God of the universe named you a "Son of Thunder?" I think I would feel emboldened to conquer anything.

The truth is, I guess, that this has already happened. Winn has spoken many times on Sunday morning about the importance of our names. Names certainly take great significance in the Bible. I look around me, and people's names do seem to often reflect deep parts of their character. According to the friendly neighborhood internet, "Erin" means "peace." "Stuart" means "guardian of the house." "Shannon" means "God is gracious." "Monica" means "counselor" (I'm not making this up).

My name means "one who is righteous, just, or fair." Though these are not qualities I would profess, they are ones that I place great stock in, that I desire, and that I seek passionately. God has given me what he gave James and John, and that knowledge is pretty exciting.

But of course I think God has named us all, even if our actual name doesn't mean anything cool or pertinent. He has taken away our old identity and given us a new identity in him, just like he did to Simon, James, John, Joshua, Paul, etc. We should all feel emboldened to conquer anything.