I've been thinking about the word "Christian" and I've decided that it's among my most favorites. In the biblical book of Acts, it was the name that Jesus followers were first called. It means "little Christs." I'm weary of all the abuse that word has taken. All the fakes it has supported.
Think of it this way...just because there are arguably millions of mothers in history and even in the world today that are terrible doesn't mean that I try to come up with another word to call myself because I don't want to be associated with the mom who drowned her five kids or the one who left her baby in his car sear for over a week to starve while she played video games in the next room. I'm sorry but "guardian of children" or "maternal caretaker" just doesn't have the same ring as "mom."
So rather than reinvent a different name for myself who claims Jesus as my Saviour, I would suggest that I need to define the term "Christian" for those in my circles.
"Believer" is a nice name but it's confusing to those not familiar with churchy type activities and discussions. Believer in what? Angels? Santa Claus? My own terrific abilities?
"Follower of Christ" is nice too, but terribly cumbersome. And I realize that in some places, calling oneself a Christian may elicit a death warrant, but here where uttering the term may elicit a snicker rather than a bounty, I think it's time we help define the word.
Not with the way we want to see Jesus or wish He was, as a reaction against someone or some group who called themselves Christians but didn't rub us the right way sometime in the past . The good thing about Christianity as opposed to any other religion is that the guidelines weren't determined by any human. God did it a long time ago.
And when I get to Heaven, I will join millions of real Christians, many of whom are so much more worthy of the title than I. Jim Elliot, John and Betty Stam, my Chinese, Indian, Indonesians and so many other brothers and sisters who traded their lives for the privilege of being called a "little Christ."
Think of it this way...just because there are arguably millions of mothers in history and even in the world today that are terrible doesn't mean that I try to come up with another word to call myself because I don't want to be associated with the mom who drowned her five kids or the one who left her baby in his car sear for over a week to starve while she played video games in the next room. I'm sorry but "guardian of children" or "maternal caretaker" just doesn't have the same ring as "mom."
So rather than reinvent a different name for myself who claims Jesus as my Saviour, I would suggest that I need to define the term "Christian" for those in my circles.
"Believer" is a nice name but it's confusing to those not familiar with churchy type activities and discussions. Believer in what? Angels? Santa Claus? My own terrific abilities?
"Follower of Christ" is nice too, but terribly cumbersome. And I realize that in some places, calling oneself a Christian may elicit a death warrant, but here where uttering the term may elicit a snicker rather than a bounty, I think it's time we help define the word.
Not with the way we want to see Jesus or wish He was, as a reaction against someone or some group who called themselves Christians but didn't rub us the right way sometime in the past . The good thing about Christianity as opposed to any other religion is that the guidelines weren't determined by any human. God did it a long time ago.
And when I get to Heaven, I will join millions of real Christians, many of whom are so much more worthy of the title than I. Jim Elliot, John and Betty Stam, my Chinese, Indian, Indonesians and so many other brothers and sisters who traded their lives for the privilege of being called a "little Christ."
2 comments:
great post. your living your life in front of those you influence will re-define their thoughts about "christian", i'm sure, if they once had a poor taste in their mouth upon hearing it.
Megan
Hmmm.... i think you're probably right. the example of the name mom makes sense. i guess i've tended to go the other direction in more recent years. but it's true that name has been used for years and years. though there are some negative connotations to it, perhaps changing the name doesn't distance itself from the negative. what a great though. ns
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