What's Your Middle Name?

By Renee

My middle name is Lynne. It's ok, I guess, nothing fancy or special about it. As far as I know, there is no significance in its' choosing. What I do know is that when I heard my mother say, "Renee Lynne," I was in trouble!

The practice of giving middle names didn't start until the mid 1800's here in America. Middle names were given as a way to capture one's genealogy. It was a way of honoring the significance of a special family member and their character traits in hopes that our offspring would live up to the name they were given. While this is still much of the way we choose middle names to this day, most children are given the names of unrelated persons.

In other cultures, a middle name is in effect, a second given name. Essentially, it is part of the identity of that child. All in all, we don't get to choose our middle names. What we do get to choose is our identity.

When I became a follower of Jesus, I was born again. No, I don't have a new name and my mother can still call "Renee Lynne" and I'll know who she's talking to. What I do have is a new identity. Essentially, I get to choose my middle name. Not a middle name like Chloe or Maria, but a middle name like "servant" or "friend." You see, my genealogy has now been grafted into that of Christ. (Gal. 4:4-7) I want to honor Him with my identity and character traits. When God calls "Renee Lynne" it won't be because I am in trouble. It will be that my identity has been wrapped up in Jesus Christ and now I am going home.