To be a Christian, more than a title!

A few years ago we had received a car for the church and we hastened to have it stamped with the name, address and website of the church. I quickly noticed that when I was using it my driving was different than usual. I was careful to obey all traffic rules, I anticipated things and let all pedestrians pass with a big smile. Many of the people who used it made the same remark to me… All because we were aware of the witness to the church. As Christians, the name of Jesus is not written physically on our foreheads to be visible to all. This can unfortunately lead us sometimes to be attentive to our way of living only when people know that we are Christians, because we are aware of the testimony.

To be a Christian is not a single name or a title, originally it was an insult to the first disciples which means “little Christ”. They were given this name because their lives so mirrored the life of Christ. So if the name of Jesus is not written on our foreheads, our whole life, our actions, our words and our gaze should reflect Christ. The people around us should be able to see Jesus in us, it is for this reason that we need to die to ourselves so that Christ may live in us and through us (cf. Galatians 2:20). To be a Christian is to carry the name of Christ wherever we go. Our lives are a testimony for those around us, for the spiritual world and for centuries to come.

Peter says here that we don't have to be ashamed to be Christians. There is no shame or embarrassment to be had about it, on the contrary, it is an honor to be able to bear the name of Christ. We need to realize that there is a cultural, unconscious and unspoken environment that allows us to be a Christian as long as it remains in the private and personal sphere. Recognizing this allows us to free ourselves from this “pressure” to witness to Christ through our life and actions so that our world may recognize Christ in us, the hope of glory (cf. Colossians 1:27).

To be a Christian is to glorify God because of His Name. We bear His Name and so our lives honor Him with what we are and do. In the Ten Commandments, we are told not to take the Name of God in vain (cf. Exodus 20: 7). To understand that we carry the Name of Christ is to realize that if we live our lives in a way that does not honor God it is tantamount to taking the Name of God in vain. Honoring God with our lives is simply choosing to stand up to do the works that He has prepared in advance for us to practice (cf. Ephesians 2:10). So we do not glorify God only by our words, but also by our way of life (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:20).

It is God's will for our lives and we can live it by cultivating our loving and intimate relationship with Christ. Prayer is not just a special moment that we take with God, it is a way of living where we simply remain in His presence throughout our days. You are His child, He adopted you, you bear His Name to reveal to the world around you His love and His goodness!

God has blessed you richly so that you bless abundantly ...

Luke