What’s in a Name?

​What’s in a name? You have heard this cliche before, haven’t you?  Hundreds of years ago Shakespeare wrote “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet…”(Romeo and Juliet). There is merit to his wisdom. The quality, the substance, the essence of a rose, or person for that matter, exists far beyond the name of that object or that person. Or maybe not…
My mother believed what you name a baby is the true christening for the child’s life. My name’s meaning:  Renee – Reborn, and Beth – House of God, oops! I stand corrected.
I met Jonathan Cahn at a Road to Jerusalem conference a few years ago.  He was a conference presenter and also was autographing his new book, The Harbinger II.  We struck up a conversation and as I introduced myself, Jonathan asked me if I knew what my name meant. I proudly stated, “Of course, Renee means reborn, and Beth means house of God.” I smiled. Jonathan shook his head, “ No, Beth does not mean House of God. My wife’s name is Elizabeth and Beth is derived from Elizabeth. Elizabeth means House for God.” His words caught me off guard as I meditated on what he had just said.  Reborn House for God…
His correction of my name’s meaning - out with the of and in with the for had a profound impact.  A house of God indicates possession, whereas a house for God implies a purpose.  That three letter preposition for has changed my view of life. I am not a House of God; I have been chosen to be a House for God’s purpose. I received Jonathan’s correction and much like the line from Frost’s poem “The Road not Taken”, ‘Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by,  and that has made all the difference’.           So, what’s in your name?