When you were born, your parents gave you a name. You didn’t pick it. They did. And that has been your identity ever since. When you were born again, God gave you a new name. You didn’t pick it. He did. And, truly, that has become your identity ever since.
Seven hundred years before Christ came, the prophet Isaiah foretold of that day when God’s people “shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will name” (Isa. 62:2). In Acts 11:26, Luke recorded that “the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” The word for “called” was used in the New Testament for a divine calling, indicating that this fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy that the Lord would give this new name to His people. The name “Christian” identifies a relationship and a belonging, as a faithful follower of Christ.
Let us never be “ashamed” of our new name (1 Pet. 4:16)! Rather, let us “glorify God” in it every day! It is our unique identity with Him, which should give us great joy!