The Hatfield and McCoy feud may be the first form of the Mafia in America. The family name was protected at all cost. The name Kennedy caries the reputation of political influence and power. The name Walton to some brings the image of a two story farm house on the side of a mountain. To others it brings the image of the Wal-Mart corporation, one of the most successful china of stores in America.. The name Judas immediately produces the thought of betrayal as does the name Benedict Arnold.
Names are not simply a way we distinguish between one another. They carry our reputations, good or bad.
In Jesus' prayer he told the Father that he had kept the disciples by the Father's name and asks the Father to continue to keep them by his name (John 27:11-12). There undoubtedly is more to this, but at minimum it means, as the disciples understood who the Father was they craved to be with him.
