My Name is SMALL
I came across this statistics: In 2015, the United Kingdom had a record number of people who officially changed their names—85,000! More and more people are filing for official changes of their names. Some are wacky (Mr. Cheeseburger), some are self-aggrandizing (Mr. Amazing), some as embodiment of certain characteristics of celebrities, sports stars, and so forth (Independence.co.uk, 2/22/2016).
If you could choose a different name for yourself, what name would you like to be called?
Before the days when he was known by the name of Paul, his name was Saul—meaning, one who was “prayed for” or “asked for.” That’s a beautiful, sentimental, even God-honoring name. It was not uncommon in his days for people to have a Greek or Latin name. Perhaps Paul decided that a Latin name would fit better for someone who was called to minister primarily to the Gentiles; after all he was a Roman citizen (Acts 22). It might also be possible that Paul understood the significance of his name’s meaning, and decided that it was more in line with his new identity in Christ to use that name, which, in Latin, means “small” or “tiny.”
The following descriptions were how Paul portrayed himself when he was SAUL:
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel (see Acts 5:34-40) according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women” (Acts 22:3-4). “They have known me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee” (Acts 26:5).
“You have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers” (Galatians 1:13-14).
“If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless” (Philippians 3:4-6).
Then, on that fateful day, as Saul neared Damascus to persecute more followers of the Way, God put an end to Saul’s terrorizing ways and decided that it was time for a change: “The Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’” (Acts 9:15-16). It was the beginning of the end for Saul and the initiation of life for Paul. In Cyprus, and from that time forward, Saul would come to be known as Paul (Acts 13:9).
In contrast to his life while he was Saul, read the following description of PAUL regarding himself:
I, Paul, am an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will (1 & 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Timothy, ESV) and command of God and of Christ Jesus (1 Timothy); sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father (Galatians); a servant of Christ Jesus and God (Titus); a prisoner of Christ Jesus (Philemon).
“I am the least of the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:9), “the very least of all the saints” (Ephesians 3:8).
“I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me… Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:18-20, 24-25)
“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:12-16).
“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
“Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith” (Philippians 3:7-9).
The meaning, even wordplay, on his name draws a more significant purpose and message to us. Saul was one who was prayed for, but he only lived up to his true potentials when he was emptied, debased, and, only as Paul, the small or tiny, did God manifest Himself through him as the one true Great God for all people!
If you could be known by your name or another name, what meaning would you like for your name to carry? For Paul, he would rather be called “small” or “tiny” so that God might truly be Measureless! What posture of heart and mind, and what conducts, should we have that would allow God to have his full manifestation and work through us? What’s your name?
~Dr. Luke Tse
Posted in: Uncategorized