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"When he found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught large numbers. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch."
(Acts 11:26, CSB)
We cannot escape names because, well, everyone has them! Take mine, for example: Bryant Tabor Forshee. There is a lot that goes into my name. For one, my first name, Bryant, is my Dad's middle name. My middle name is after the doctor who helped me get into this world. My last name is pretty unique; you don't meet many "Forshees" wherever you go. My middle name also holds even more significance now, as it is the name my wife and I chose for our first son. Names are titles that assign identity, so the namer has a great right and responsibility. In my case, my name was given to me because that is what Danny and Ashley Forshee chose to do on September 17, 1992 when I was born.
But what about what happens in our Scripture verse for today? We observe a unique phenomenon in the life of the Church: a new identity, a new name, is bestowed upon those who follow Jesus Christ. Before we discuss why this is significant, I would like to provide some context. Please read Acts 11 if you have time. A short summary of Acts 11 is that the message of Jesus Christ is going around the world, and it has reached Antioch. Furthermore, it is converting many people there, impacting everyday aspects of life, and affecting everything in such a unique way that the people of Antioch coined a new term: Christian.
This is significant because of what this term means. In Latin, the ending "ian" meant "the party of." So by definition, the culture and people of Antioch were calling these followers of Jesus "the party of Christ". They gave them a new name! The culture around these Christ-followers, the people with whom the church of Antioch were interacting, thought they resembled, talked like, walked like, sounded like, and otherwise reflected Jesus so much that they had no other name for them but basically "little Christs"! What a testimony!
Here is the challenge for you on this Monday: would your culture around you be able to say the same thing about you? By the way you talk, act, walk, work, love, serve–everything you do–would they look at you and say, unequivocally, "Christian"? Would they be able to call you that, even if they don't know you that well? Would they know that you are a follower of Jesus because of how you live and work? Does your culture look at you like the people of Antioch looking at the church and say, "Christian"?
If the answer to the questions above is no, what can you do TODAY to show your office, your workspace, your family, your fellow gym members, and everyone with whom you come in contact that you are a little Jesus walking around today? May your actions, words, and everything you do reflect Jesus so much that people cannot help but say, "little Jesus" when they see you!
Let's be bold Christians today!
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