Dear Church Family,
Let’s start this rainy day with a pop quiz. One question will be easy, while I will be very impressed if you get the second one correct. I did not know the whole answer until yesterday. So put yourself back into your fourth grade classroom. First question, spell the name of the current month. Second question, why does this month have that name? Please do not use the Google machine!
I will let you grade your own quiz. For the first question, you should have spelled: S-E-P-T-E-M-B-E-R. I trust you all got that correct, though I will give partial credit if you thought it was still March. To answer question number two you need to know something about the Julian calendar (named after a Caesar and not a Hyatt). We use the Roman calendar which begins with March. ‘Septem’ is Latin for seven, thus September was the seventh month. If you knew that, give yourself a pat on the back and apply to be on Jeopardy!
I gave you that quiz to point out that names mean something. On our staff: Sarah = “princess”; Elaine = “torch”; and Skip = silly little boy who grew to be 6 foot 6. All except the third come from a dictionary, so I will go instead with my given name John which means “the Lord is gracious.”
This takes us to Acts 11:26 where a simple sentence states, “The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.” The term Christian means ‘follower of Christ.’ Scholars contend people in Antioch employed the term to distinguish them from Jews and to mock them as ‘little Christs’ who lived like Jesus. Nonbelievers thought their mean words would hurt the feelings of God’s people. They were wrong. Contrast their derisive intent with the report Barnabas gave about the followers of Jesus in verse 23, “When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.”
God’s people in Antioch lived in such a way that their neighbors took notice. They reflected Christ in daily life and not just on the Sabbath. So we, as “disciples…called Christians,” must live in such a way that unbelievers around us see that we live as was sung Sunday, “Yet not I, but through Christ in me.” Peter wrote to the persecuted church in 1 Peter 4:16, “If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” Earlier in 2:12 Peter encouraged them to “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
Names mean something and the name “Christian” matters most of all. May we bear that name to the glory of God!
Living by grace to His glory,
Pastor Gillikin