Such a Strange Name

Moses was instructed by God to go and make demands of Pharaoh to release the Israelites from their slavery. He tried to weasel out of the task and even asked God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”  God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”  Exodus 3:13-14

What kind of a name is that?  Whatever clan you are from, and whatever era in which you live or lived, that would be a strange name.  We are more accustomed to John and Jane Doe.  What can we come to know from the name God chose to reveal himself?

For one thing, the easiest answer to the question is that it means what it says.  There has never been a time nor will there ever be a time when God cannot say, "I AM."  Even when we have a wavering faith and our doubts try to control us, God still is God.  We can travel to the farthest corners of the world or even to the outer limits of space, God still is God.  We may live only a few years or lots of years and he remains God. 

The most important answer to our question about God's name comes from our relationship with him.  To be the child of I AM, makes you the recipient of his grace and forgiveness, and you will share in his eternal nature.  There really is something in a name.  I AM has sent me to tell you. 

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