When Is a Name Not Necessarily an Accurate Name?

Maybe you recall the phrase, “A rose is a rose is a rose.” It was originated by writer Gertrude Stein as part of her 1913 poem, “Sacred Emily.” Many understand the phrase to mean, “things are what they are.” Ms. Stein explained she basically meant that the simple use of a name already invokes the imagery and emotions associated with it.

I mention this because of how use of the term “Christian” has changed through the years. When I first came to an understanding of what it meant to truly commit your life to Christ, more than four decades ago, I was proud to tell others that I was a Christian. In the years since then, however, I’d have to say this term has been hijacked, given a variety of different meanings – some of them used in negative, even derogatory ways.

 

So, depending on who’s speaking or writing, applying the “a rose is a rose is a rose” principle to the word “Christian” might not work very well. 

 

Rather than delving into uses and misuses of Christian, I’d like to point to a shift I’ve observed among those who profess to trust Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Some would now describe themselves as “followers of Jesus Christ,” while others choose to define themselves as “disciples of Christ.” If someone were to ask me, “Are you a Christian?” I probably would respond, “Yes, I am.” But, depending on the person and circumstances, I might also ask what they mean by the term. Because their meaning might not align with what I mean in expressing it.

 

Somewhat surprisingly, the Scriptures use the term Christian only three times in the original Greek writings, although some Bible paraphrases have added it to other passages. In 1 Peter 4:16, the apostle wrote, “…if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” This is the one instance in the New Testament – again, in the original texts – of a believer using the term.

 

The other two instances of the earliest manuscripts using the word actually apply to non-believing persons. Acts 11:26 says, “…The disciples were called Christians in Antioch.” In essence, outsiders were calling them “Christ ones” – people uniquely related to Jesus Christ. 

 

Then in Acts 26:28, after the apostle Paul had explained to King Agrippa how his life had been transformed by Christ, the Roman official declared, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” Again, the word is not used by a believer but rather, by a skeptic wanting to categorize what the apostle was proclaiming.

 

Bottom line, the Scriptures indicate that what matters most to the Lord is not which term we choose to use, but who we are – what is truly in our hearts? Paul summarized in Acts 17:28 what it means to be a genuine follower of Jesus: “For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’” As the apostle stated it, it’s our radical identity, not just on special days or at certain hours, but every minute of every day.

 

Recently I was reminded of what’s often called “St. Patrick’s Lorica,” a prayer of protection in the Old Irish language. The namesake of the boisterous annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, in real life he was a devout British missionary and bishop in fifth-century Ireland. His lorica, which literally means “breastplate,” includes these words: 

“Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.”

 

Kind of reminds me of the office worker who was asked the “Are you a Christian?” question. She responded, “I’d put it this way: I’m a follower of Jesus, cleverly disguised as an administrative assistant.” Would that be true for you? Whether you’re a business executive, elected official, homemaker and mother of three, plumber, professional athlete, retail manager, IT person, or student, could you earnestly say, “I’m a follower of Christ, cleverly disguised as…”?

 

If you can, then it doesn’t matter whether you call yourself a Christian, a disciple of Jesus, or an “ambassador for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). What matters is whether people can see “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

Sitting on an Unopened Treasure Chest

Have you seen any of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, starring Jack Sparrow? Or perhaps you can recall other pirate films from years past, featuring characters like Blackbeard or Long John Silver (not the restaurant). How about “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and Indiana Jones? A common theme in each of these movies was the search for a legendary treasure chest, despite encountering great obstacles. 

What if, once the heroes had overcome great odds and discovered the long-lost treasure, they simply chose to carry it around, or hide it somewhere else, without inspecting the contents of the treasure chest. Wouldn’t that be ludicrous?

And yet, many of us possess a storehouse of treasure, often within an arm’s reach, yet we never open it up to see what’s inside. What I’m talking about are the Holy Bible, which one passage describes as “living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4;:12). 

For many millions of people around the world, the Scriptures aren’t so readily available. They can’t take advantage of God’s Word because it hasn’t yet to be translated into their own languages, whether in written or oral form. And in some cultures, including Communist China and many Middle Eastern nations, possessing even portions of the Bible is forbidden. Believers in these lands face opposition most of us in the Western world couldn’t imagine. 

We don’t face such obstacles – at least not yet. But perhaps because the Scriptures are so easily accessible, in many versions and an ever-expanding assortment of formats in print, online and even apps, we take them for granted. Like the air we breathe, it’s there but we rarely notice it.

This is sad. Because just as pirates would eagerly open a long-sought treasure chest to examine its content, we should be just as enthusiastic about plumbing the depths of the Bible’s treasures. Especially since, as I’ve discovered, the Scriptures aren’t like the average treasure chest: Even if we spent a lifetime exploring them, there would be so much more to learn. Here are just several of the passages upon which I have built my life and faith:

More than 40 years ago I adopted Proverbs 3:5-6 as my “life verse,” and it’s provided great encouragement through the twists and turns life has taken since then. It states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and learn not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” 

One day at a conference I heard someone quote Philippians 3:10 from the Amplified Bible, and it soon turned into my personal “mission statement”: “[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him – that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding [the wonders of His Person] more strongly and more clearly.” What greater purpose could anyone have than to strive to know and understand God through every aspect of life?

Then years ago I came across another passage, Psalm 45:1, that captured my ultimate desire as a writer and journalist. It reads, “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”

Three passages that have aptly described my life, my mission, and my career. But there’s been so much more. For instance, numerous declarations in the Scriptures have underscored the importance of making Jesus Christ central to the believer’s everyday life. A friend, Ted, often quotes Acts 17:28, which says, “For in him we live and move and have our being.” Another verse, Colossians 1:27 points out it is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

I could go on and on, but I’ll cite just one more passage that helped to clarify what I desired for God to do through my life. In 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 we read about a seemingly obscure individual: “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers…(he) cried out to the Lord God of Israel, ‘Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’ So God granted him what he requested.”

Nowhere else in the Scriptures do we read anything about this fellow, Jabez. He’s not included in Hebrews 11’s “hall of faith” or anywhere else in the Bible. But I believe this very brief account was included for a very specific reason – that if our heart’s desire is to serve God and have a greater impact for His eternal glory, God will gladly answer such a prayer.

Have you discovered any “buried” treasures in the Bible? I hope you have. If you haven’t, perhaps you haven’t really been looking. As the apostle Paul prayed for believers he was writing to, “that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2-3).

The Happy-Happy, Easy Faith Myth

Here we are, settling into a new year and learning how to write “2018” on correspondence, checks and anything else that calls for the current year. The holidays are over and we’re looking ahead to many weeks before spring explodes all around us again.

With the euphoria of Christmas and its spirit of “peace on earth, good will to men” quickly fading, it’s time to address anew the challenge of 2 Corinthians 5:20, being “ambassadors for Christ.”

More than 30 years ago, I had reached a spiritual impasse. The “life of faith” just wasn’t working. Living a life pleasing to God seemed impossible, like trying to vault 18 feet without a pole.

I could empathize with the apostle Paul, who wrote, “So I find this law at work. When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law, but I see another law at work in the inner members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind…. What a wretched man I am. Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:21-24).

Sometimes we hear people say, “God wants us to be happy,” or it’s as simple as “let go, and let God.” Nice sentiments, but striving to live a life consistent with biblical teachings isn’t always a happy lot. At least not for me.

It’s often frustrating, as well as challenging. Like Paul, we find ourselves asking, “Why do I do what I don’t want to do, and why don’t I do what I desire to do?”

The apostle wasn’t alone. Evangelist Dr. Billy Graham admitted, “The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes and say, ‘O God, forgive me, or help me.’” If people like Paul and Dr. Graham say such things, what hope do we have?

The question has no easy answer, but Paul wrote these encouraging words immediately after his confession of despair: “Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!... Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 7:25-8:2). What this says to me is we need no longer wallow in our failures, overwhelmed by guilt.

It’s been well-said the Christian life isn’t difficult to live – it’s impossible! That doesn’t mean it can’t be lived. Because the Bible provides this promise: “…the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). We can’t live for God in our own strength. But He doesn’t ask us to do that. If there’s a “secret” to the Christian life, it’s that He wants to live His life through us.

As Jesus told His followers, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

My spiritual impasse forced me to consider the truths of two passages I’d been pondering for a while. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we’re told, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” And Galatians 2:20 builds on that: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

These verses made no sense. I wasn’t feeling, or acting, like a new creation. And it didn’t seem like Jesus was living in me. I felt more like the “wretched man” Paul described.

In time, however, these passages helped me to understand that when Jesus declared, “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3), He wasn’t speaking in riddles. Being a true, consistent follower of Jesus requires a new, spiritual birth. The Bible calls it “regeneration,” experiencing Christ’s life in us through His Spirit.

This sounds simple, and in one respect it is. Galatians states we live by faith, and as the old hymn says, “Trust and obey.”

But living it out every day, alas, is not. Jesus said in another setting, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). It requires “dying to self” daily, surrendering our independence and yielding to Him moment by moment.

That’s what I’m continuing to learn, reminding myself day after day after day. When will I – or anyone – “master” this truth? Not in this life. But 1 John 3:2 declares, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” To quote another hymn, what a day of rejoicing that will be!