We are praying for the happy arrival of a new grandson,
nephew, son and brother this November. The choosing of the name for our son was
rather unique in that Lauryn and I were away from each other for two weeks, and
seemed to both independently settle on the same given name during this time. The
name that has been chosen is,
Ian Elijah Falkenstine.
His first name, Ian, is the Scottish Gaelic equivalent to
the English, John, which means, “God is Gracious.”
The middle name, Elijah, is a direct translation of the
Hebrew meaning, “God is Yahweh.”
Both this attribute and name of God is eloquently combined
in a single passage of scripture, which we have chosen to go with his name. The
Holman Christian Standard translation uses both exact words,
“Know that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His
gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love Him
and keep His commands.”
Deuteronomy
7:9 HCS
God gave the prophet Elijah the ministry of declaring the meaning of
his name in that the one true God is Yahweh. At a very critical point in Elijah’s
life, God demonstrated that he is indeed gracious to those who serve him, and
keep his covenant, by both dealing kindly with the depressed Elijah, and preserving
the life of the remnant of those who remained faithful to Him.
We ask a blessing on little Ian, that he will have this same view of
who God is, and understand with all of his heart the graciousness of this God
he serves.
Daniel, Lauryn, Shelden and Jenae
