Naming Baby Smash

Naming is a sacred duty.  To name another creature is practicing one of the Divine gifts given to humanity.  Like Adam in the Garden of Eden, Joy and I have spent months trying to discern the right name for our child as he relates to our family.  Admittedly, Justice’s name came a bit easier (i.e. before she was born).  But like Justice, our boy’s name holds within it a similar prayer. 

Joy and I tend to gravitate toward the prophets in the Christian Scriptures.  Their call for justice, peace, and the provocation of hope matches our own yearnings in life.  The prophets help give birth to new communities of life that are distinct from the dominant culture; or rather, prophets help transform communities toward new ways of healthy living.  They balance the key elements of criticizing systems that bring death and energizing toward renewal.  In a lot of ways, every pastor needs to possess a little prophetic zeal. 

The past couple weeks the book of Micah has been a renewed focus.  Micah stands out in both critical judgment and energizing activity.  It is a call for justice, a word of warning toward the powerful and wealthy and a word of hope for the lowly, poor, despised, and oppressed of the land.  While I won’t go into too much detail about the particularities of what is said (there is a second draft if anyone is interested), I would encourage you to spend some time in this lesser known prophet, especially Micah chapters 2, and 4 through 6. 

The Prophets remind us of the life we ought to live, the community we should strive to be, and the One who makes it all possible.  We believe that a life marked with Christ’s life for the world starts with our family, within our familial fellowship, and extends into the life our church and the surrounding community.  We pray, as Christ taught us, for heaven to be a part of earth.  And for this prayer to be a reality, the world will need to be reminded of the voice of the prophets. 

So, the first name of our son is Micah.

And if you have been following our life over the last year, you know that Joy and I are currently serving as Missionary-Pastors on the Big Island of Hawaii.  This missionary call on my life in particular started with my relationship with my Grandpa Koolhaas on my mom's side.  He had spent many years as a pastor and missionary, living alongside and with the Navajo tribes in New Mexico.  His commitment, grace, faithfulness, and love for God, his family, and those he served on the reservation are carried in his children, grandchildren, and those he pastored.  His death in 1995 coincided with my own call as a ten year old boy.  This past year, his wife, Elsie Koolhaas, also passed away.  And while they didn't meet Micah, we wanted Micah to carry a little bit of them with him.  

So, Micah's middle name, Abraham, is influenced by his Great Grandpa Abram Koolhaas.  Abraham being the derivative of Abram after God changed his name at the start of the covenant (Gen. 15&17).  We believe that God's faithfulness to Abraham is indicative of God's faithfulness to the world to make all things right.  And we pray that our son, Micah Abraham Paul, will be a part of this renewal.