What’s in a Name

My car died and since it is still under warranty it had to be transported 250 miles over the mountains to the closest dealership in the metro area. It was a relief to find out it was just the battery and a quick fix; however, the time it took to transport the car to and from the dealership meant I was without the car for a week. Since we weren’t close enough to the dealership to get a loaner vehicle, I was relegated to drive Bill’s old truck — which has white paint peeling off in chunks, the turn radius of a tank, a broken gas gage and a misaligned shift indicator. It was a humbling experience. However, I decided I could give the truck more prestige if I simply re-named it and called it “the farm truck”.  As a follower of Christ, we too have a new name and ambiance. Peter said, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10 NIV).