The best nicknames come from submarine sailors. These sobriquets of endearment are the product of creative minds living in confined spaces for long periods of time.
During my time on submarines, the nicknames came from physical features, hometowns, and songs, to name a few.
When we saw the guy in the Torpedo Division with big ears we called him “wing nut.”
You’d be impressed with the nicknames we thought of, for a Sonar Technician from Kissimmee, FL. It’s best not to list those ones here.
“Mongo” was a BIG man who reminded us of a character from a 1974 western comedy movie. (Do you know the movie?)
Then there was “More Cowbell.” When we heard More Cowbell talk, he stood out from other people. The same way an overly aggressive cowbell stood out in that comical rendition of a famous rock and roll song. (Do you know the song?)
My nickname was gooseneck, because when I walk, they said I looked like a goose. Apparently, I lean forward with a crooked neck. One “friend” said if I had feathers he would have shot me.
I didn’t mind my nickname. It was certainly more accurate than the three Saints my parents named me after (Saint Thomas, Saint Gerard, and, the big man himself, Saint Peter). At that time in my life, I was living more like a goose with a crooked heart than a saint.
The God of the Bible does not have nicknames. But he does have a lot of names. They’re names given by people who interacted with God. These names describe what God did for them. Here are a few examples:
When Abraham saw how God provided for him and his son, Abraham called him, Yahweh-Jireh, meaning, The Lord Will Provide.
When a single mom named Hagar, was cast out, abandoned with her child, she testified that God saw her distress and intervened. She called him, EL ROI, meaning he is the God who sees.
God does have a personal name, just like you and I. We know this because someone asked Him what it was. In the Old Testament book called Exodus, God said his personal name is, “I AM who I AM.” (YAHWEH)
Don’t ask me to explain that name.
What’s really interesting though, is how Jesus used that personal, Old Testament name for God. Jesus used it to describe what he does for people. You may know some of these:
I AM the bread of life…
I AM the light of the world…
I AM the resurrection…
(There’s four more of these self descriptors.)
When church leaders heard how Jesus was using the I AM name, they gave him the “what for”.
Then, one day, Jesus said this to those church leaders, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” (Abraham is a man who lived thousands of years ago. You can read about him in the first book of the Bible called Genesis,)
When the church leaders heard Jesus say that, they tried to kill him because they knew exactly WHO he was claiming to be.
There’s a lot in a name.
Great dive into names, Tom! I enjoyed it. 🙂