I'm sure many have wondered why I now go by my nickname instead of the name I was given at birth. It seems that lots of people "earn" their nickname to give them some individuality, like its a part of their DNA. Some people in my family have certainly "earned" their nicknames out of convenience. Some years ago, I found out my older brother had a nickname his friends and classmates called him when he started middle school. Even my stepdad has all kinds of names for which he is known.
Even numerous people in the Biblical times had name changes (ex. Abram -> Abraham) or were known by at least two names (ex. Saul of Tarsus/Paul).
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Nicknames are nice to have in this world and honestly, I'm thankful for them.
In my case, I didn't "earn" my nickname. I decided to start calling myself by my nickname as if I was turning over a new leaf and partly because I was starting high school at the time. Those that personally know me understand or can only imagine the hurt I had in my past. While trusting in Christ has been my number one priority, my birth name (Nathan) and nickname (Nate) can be examples of who I was and who I am. Surely hard things have happened since my name change, but the hardest of all came before that.
By no means will I throw away what I was called at birth. I am still legally known as Nathan, while I prefer my nickname "Nate." My family has always known me as Nathan and that will never change for too many good reasons. As a way to be casual and to be me, I introduce myself as Nate. Sometimes, I actually catch my friends address me as Nathan, but I guess that's a sign of care about me.
Names have been important for eternity. We read from the aptly-named book of Genesis that when God created the world, He put naming things as a top priority. As God has created us in His Image, He has also called us by name and He is ours (which is why I still retain Nathan). Certainly, changing names to lie about who you really are in any situation would be sinful. Identity-by that I mean who you call yourself- is everything in this world.
As I close and put this name issue to rest, when I see Jesus Christ in Heaven, I'm absolutely sure that He is going to call me Nathan. Jesus does have other names (Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, King of Kings), but I and my other fellow believers know Him best as Jesus because of how special He is to those of us who follow Him. Jesus Christ truly is the Name that is above every name.
If you want to call me Nathan, that's okay. If you like Nate better (as I do), great! However, the one request I have is please don't call me Nathaniel. I've never been known as that.
