I have been called many names in my life. With a name like Swanson you’re going to get called TV dinner, freezer man, the Schwann-man, and Swanee River.
With a name like Timothy you’ll get called Tim-bo, Timbuktu, Tim-buck-tooth, Timmy, Tim-Tim, and my favorite given to me by my cousin, Timpson.
And when I was young my parents loved to throw a few new names in the mix like Otis Timothy Michael O’Shea Gonzalez Pierre Swanson. (That one made me genealogically challenged when I was a kid)
I often responded with some kind of name back at whoever was calling me something.
But nothing can compare to what Peter was called one day.
From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Matt 16:21-23
Think about how Peter might have responded; “Satan! Did He just call me Satan! Lord, what did I say…what did I do…forgive me please!”
“Matthew, what are you doing? You don’t have to write this down in our journal. Let’s just forget it ever happened. I’m just going to keep my mouth shut from now on!”
“Why do I get dubbed Satan when Judas is the one that keeps talking betrayal?”
“Jesus called me Satan. That’s it! I’m leaving this outfit.”
“I wish I could crawl into a hole and pull the dirt in over me.”
But for what it’s worth, Peter never got called Satan again and six days later, Jesus took him, James and John to the top of a mountain where they saw the glory of the Son of Man along with Moses and Elijah.
Peter also went on to write by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” 1 Peter 1:6-7
Perhaps Peter could have used that as a testimony; “I was called Satan one time by our Lord; but I did not run away. I did not let it get me down. I repented of the wrong I had done and pushed on with the power of our Savior.”
Remember this same Peter that was called Satan was the same Peter that preached the message of Pentecost!
Embrace your names and use them for the glory of God.