In Scripture God has been given a number of names. While you may be familiar with the name Yahweh, there are other names in the Bible that refer to His intrinsic nature, such as Elion, the Greek for “God most high,” or names that demonstrate his relation to humanity, such as Elohim, the Hebrew for “God, worthy of veneration.”
(For the curious or the linguists out there, the various appellations given to God are discussed in a more detailed article by Catholism.org.)
However, a young girl recently shared with her mother what she thought God’s name was, and we’re pretty sure it doesn’t appear anywhere in the Bible!
In the delightful mother-daughter chat, the mom asks her daughter what she thought God was called. And if you look at the very short reel below, you’ll see her understandable response.
Her answer “Howard” is perfection, as is her version of the Lord’s Prayer. And to be fair to the youngster, the name does actually mean “high defender” or “chief guardian,” so it’s a pretty impressive moniker.
However, her reply (and incredulity that her mother was unaware of His name) has also made many of us giggle. And this brings to mind Pope Francis’ upcoming meeting with 106 comedians at the Vatican in a bid to shine a light on the “the unifying value of laughter.”
The video itself has garnered nearly a quarter of a million likes on Instagram alone, with some pretty interesting comments on how God Himself is no doubt having a little giggle, and others pointing out the wonderful innocence of children.
The innocence of youth
And it is this innocence and self-assurance that should also be celebrated and preserved. This was something close to the heart of Sir Ken Robinson, a prominent educator, who shared his thoughts on education in the popular TED Talk below.
In the talk (at around 3 minutes 50) he mentions a little girl who tells her teacher she’s drawing a picture of God, and the teacher replies that nobody knows what He looks like. The girl continues drawing and simply says, “They will in a minute.”
And this is something we should encourage in our children, to feel that they can share their thoughts, imagination, and beliefs of what God is like. Not only can they encourage us to look at Him through their eyes, it can give parents an opportunity to educate their little ones, too.
(If you skip to 4 minutes 30 there’s an equally cute anecdote of a Nativity play.)
And today we celebrate...