Nicknames fascinate me. People seldom give themselves a nickname. The best nicknames are those which come from close friends or family members who love us. I’ve been given a few nicknames over the course of my life. Because nobody locally knows what they are, I don’t believe I’ll list them here and thus revive their usage.

I’ve been pretty prolific handing out nicknames to my friends. Most of the names stuck. Lots of fun!

Who can forget Chubby Checkers, the Singing Cowboy, or Fats Domino? Some people carry their nickname for a lifetime and don’t even remember how they got it.

It recently occurred to me that, in a way, we have nicknames for the members of the Godhead. We refer to the Holy Spirit as our Comforter, our Illuminator, our Enlightener, our Guide, our Empowerer, etc. We refer to Jesus as the Lamb of God, our Shepherd, our Rock, our Bread, our Light, our Way, our Truth, etc. We refer to God as our Father (Daddy), our Protector, our Supplier, our Creator, our Sustainer, our Rock, our Sword, our Shield, etc.

I certainly don’t mean to be irreverent. These “nicknames” for the Godhead certainly didn’t originate with us. However, we do use them very affectionately in prayer and praise. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew people had special names for God related to His special covenant relationships with them.

If you were given a nickname descriptive of your real character, would you be proud of it? I’d like to hear from our readers. What nicknames have you been given? What are your favorite names for God?

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