What's in a Name

In the Bible, people were given names that were meant to speak to the character of the person. The same goes for God. In Isaiah 9:6, Jesus was prophesied as the one who would be named "Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."

I don't think that many people choose names today with their children's character in mind, but Anne and I had it in mind somewhat. Primarily we choose Aidan's name out of a list of names we had narrowed down because we liked the sound and the uniqueness of his name. I know, I know, it's alot more popular these days, but still, we love it. We love Irish culture (although we've never been to Ireland and want to go some time), and appreciated the sound of the name. It so happens that his name means "fire." Anne and I pray that the fire of God will bring purity and life to his soul, that he would be a flame burning brightly for God.

As for Michael, let me begin with a lesson in Biblical Hebrew: the Hebrew name for God is "El." Many words that contain "el" refer to God in some way. Michael, in Hebrew pronounced "Mi-cha-el"--with a hard, gutteral 'h,'" means "Who is like God?" Anne and I vascillated between Michael and Matthew, but in the end we chose Michael because it points us so much to God. The story of how Aidan Michael came to be (which I will tell more completely) reflects this characteristic of God. Who is like Him? Only He can orchestrate the events that have come to place in our lives, and in Aidan's little one week life so far. So we sing, like David Crowder, "There is no one like You, there has never, ever been anyone like You, God."

Thank you God, for the gift of our son, Aidan Michael. Aidan, as I composed this you turned one week old. May you ever and always know this truth, that there is NO ONE like our God. May you be a fire burning brightly for Him. Your mom and I love you dearly.