What's in a Name?

In Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare writes that "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". The point seems to be that a name is merely a label. And to some degree that is true. The label for the flower that we call a "rose" in English, is just an English label. Other languages have different labels for that flower. But there is a sense in which the label that we apply to a thing begins to take on life.

When I was very small, I called my mother "Mama". When I was 10-ish, I was very angry with her for a while, and I started calling her "Mom". Then a few years later, (after our relationship had corrected itself) I began to call her "Mommy". As another example (again when I was very small), I had a little stuffed tiger named "Tiger". I took him EVERYWHERE, and I left him lots of places too! =? But still, even though I'm 30 years old, when I think of Tiger, I get emotional warm fuzzies.There is another sense in which a name is more than just a label. When my Shorty and I chose names for our children, we were very conscious of the meanings of those names. We named our Crew hoping that they would "grow up into their names", so to speak.

As I was pondering what's in a name recently, I began to think about the names that God has given Himself. The first one that came to my mind was "I AM". When Moses asked God who he should say sent him to the Israelites, God's reply was "I am". So I was pondering the implications of "I am". It shows God's independence. He does not come FROM something else, and He does not NEED anything. He is self-existent and self-sufficient. (Just to be clear, when I talk about God, I'm referring to all three persons of the Godhead. Father, Son and Holy Spirit.) Another implication of the "I am", is omnipresence. He didn't say, "I am with you." He just said, "I am". And if He just IS, then He is always present! =) I'm sure there are more, but that's all I've got for now. =)

Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
Exodus 3:13-14

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Psalms 90:2