What’s in a Name?
This is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous lines. For our family we have an answer with eternal ramifications.
Many of you know our children’s names are Korean and have significant meanings. Yae-Chan means Praise Jesus. Yae-Sun means Prophet of Jesus. Hyae-Lan means flowering wisdom. However, what you may not have known is that Rachael and I have also been given Korean names. I have always wanted a Korean name, but thought it would be weird (to say the least) to take one for myself. I hoped that a Korean would give me a name. I am not sure that I prayed for that but it was a desire in my heart. Sometime after this desire had surfaced we were staying with a Korean family at one of the churches in which we were ministering. At the end of the weekend our hostess looked at us and said “I have your names picked out after observing you this weekend”. She gave Rachael the name Eun-Hae, which means grace, and she gave me the name Yae-Tek, which means chosen of Jesus.
So what is in a name? Well, if you put our families names together you get the entire purpose for our ministry. We have been chosen of Jesus (Yae-Tek) to be His prophets (Yae-Sun) so that the South Koreans can see the Grace (Eun-Hae) of God. Then after they have received Christ they will praise Jesus (Yae-Chan) for His mercy, and we will teach them to grow in wisdom (Hyae-Lan) and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
So, what’s in a name? I don’t know what Mr. Shakespeare had in mind, but in our case the answer to the famous question is this: everything!
