What’s in His Name?

Just in case the name “Malachi” is new to you, I thought I’d share some of our thoughts behind choosing this name for our son…

What comes to mind first is that we love its meaning (“My Messenger”), which indicates a personal connection with and responsibility to God himself.

Ah, and then, there’s  the book of Malachi in the Old Testament. The Holy Scriptures open with the utmost command to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind,” and the book of Malachi concludes the beautiful Old Testament with the same message: a personal message from God Himself about His longing that we love Him wholeheartedly… with our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. God, our maker, wants our pure and devoted love, and we long to respond gratefully to His pursuit.

We know too well the vast temptations to adore and serve other gods; we know too well the emptiness of our wayward affections. But, happily, we also know the sweet reward of receiving God’s grace to love Him with our whole hearts; we know that God’s promise in Malachi 1:11, “from the rising of the sun to its setting, my name will be great among the nations” has become our deepest desire. The book of Malachi is not a threat from God (“Watch out! I will be great or else!), but a delightful promise for those of us who are longing for His righteousness and love to fill the whole earth. He has captivated our hearts!

And so, we name our son Malachi to recognize that each of us is relentlessly beckoned by the Almighty God to love Him wholeheartedly and to eagerly anticipate Jesus’ restoration of all things. We hope that our sweet Kai, along with all of us, will heed and share God’s loving plea, “Return to me and I will return to you.” (Malachi 3:7).

As for Kai’s middle name, “Joseph,” we honor my father, by using his middle name. Not to mention, we love the virtues in both biblical “Josephs,” and are delighted to surround our son with such godly men – my father, Joseph who remained faithful through adversity, and Joseph who devoted his life to care for Jesus Christ.

Also, it means “God will increase,” which is the desire of our hearts.