A Name

I have often wondered where my parents came up with my name. My legal name is Jimmy Ray Muston. It is not “James” or “Jim,” but “Jimmy.” It says so, right on my birth certificate. Throughout my life, people have mistakenly assumed that my “given name” must be James. Yet, for whatever reason, my parents named me Jimmy Ray.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no other family members with a similar name. My wife has done extensive research into my genealogy, without discovering any relatives with such a moniker. I do have a cousin named James, but he is younger than me. Since both of my parents have passed away, I remain clueless as to origin of my name. I can only assume that they liked it.

Some people might question why it even matters. The fact is that a person’s name is very important to them. They are going to be stuck with the choices their parents make at the time of their birth for the rest of their life, unless they go to the trouble and expense of legally changing their name. In my case, I am not dissatisfied…just curious about how they decided on my name.

There really is something special about our names. It is the first gift that our parents give to us. What we do with the name that we have received is up to us. We can bring either a sense of pride or shame to it. We read in Philippians 2:9-11 about Jesus: “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Jesus was given a name of honor, and He lived up to the Father’s expectations. What have you done with the name that you were given?

Serving in love,

Bro. Jim