It occurs to me that it really was a prophetic act upon the Lord’s part. He spoke of things that were yet to be as though they were already a done deal. He cast a vision of the future despite knowing how unlikely that future would appear to others over the next three years. And it wasn’t a prophecy concerning some great event . . . some cataclysmic happening. No . . . He spoke of a future name change . . . that’s all . . . of going from one arrangement of 5 letters (in English) to another arrangement of 5 letters. But in that prophetic word was a “here and now” commitment. Jesus, Himself, would undertake the work . . . of enabling a man to live up to his new name.

“One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas’ (which means Peter).” (John 1:40-42 ESV)

Personally, I like the name “Peter” better than “Simon” . . . just sayin’. But this wasn’t about getting an upgrade to the tag he wore . . . not about moving up in alphabetic order. This was at the essence of the call Jesus was putting on the life Simon, the son of John. And at this most foundational level it wasn’t a prophetic voice of what Simon would do, but about what Simon would become. It foreshadowed a change that would occur within the deepest areas of Simon’s life . . . an actual restructuring of his spiritual DNA that would manifest itself in his physical interactions with the world around him.

Some would say that Simon had a bit of flakey tendency. “Ready, fire, aim,” was kind of how he interacted with circumstance sometimes . . . act first, think later. Now give the guy credit . . . he was determined to be in the game . . . even if he didn’t always know which goal post his team was driving for . . . he might not know where he was going, but at least he was making good time. You gotta like the energy . . . the passion . . . the “let’s do it” attitude that he brought to the table. What it needed was some breaking . . . for that zeal to be harnessed and directed . . . for Simon, the flake, to be transformed into Peter, the rock! What he needed was an encounter (or a few of them) with the One who created him . . . knew him inside and out . . . loved him unconditionally . . . was committed to him whole-heartedly . . . was determined to begin a work in Him and then, complete that work. What he needed was a new name . . . and the power of heaven itself to allow him to live up to his new name.

I think I have a new name too. I don’t know exactly what it is right now . . . but I will (Rev. 2:17). A new name is just fitting for a “new creation in Christ” (2Cor. 5:17). A “targeted outcome” would seem consistent with being “God’s workmanship” (Eph. 2:10). I don’t know exactly what the Potter has determined the final product to look like . . . but I have a good idea . . . sort of conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29) . . . but, I think, with an “individual nuance” reflective of the me He has wired together from my mother’s womb.

If I think about what I know of the journey Simon took to becoming “Peter”, it wasn’t always very easy. Some tough times along the way . . . some tough lessons to learn . . . some humbling before the Lord after failure . . . some tears shed . . . sometimes embarrassed by how much of “impetuous Simon” got in the way of being the rock Jesus had said he’d be. But, at it’s essence, it wasn’t Simon’s work . . . it was to be the work of the God who created him and then re-created him in Christ. God’s perfect work would be accomplished . . . as a wise man struggling with life reminded me in Ecclesiastes this morning, “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Eccl. 3:11a).

God’s in the business of transforming His people . . . shaping us into the men and women of God He has determined for us to be . . . shaping me into the “new me” He has called me to be . . . enabling me to live up to a new name . . . a name He will present to me on that day . . . by His grace . . . and for His glory.

“To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.” ~Jesus (Rev. 2:17)