“And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” Acts 11:26
Have you ever really thought about what it really means to be a Christian? I am not talking about what it means to you or how you are living it out. I am talking about the literal definition of being a Christian. What does God say about it? As I have pondered this question recently, the Lord provided the answer through different situations I have experienced.
We have completed our first month of the 2012 school year here at LMCS. It has been nothing less than a challenge and yet also a great reminder of the great necessity of my complete reliance on the Lord daily. As I strive to train and teach this “different” class, I am reminded daily of my utter inability to do what He has called to do, without His power and wisdom. As I have met with many of the parents of my twenty four precious students, I am seeing the need more and more of grasping just what it means to be a Christian.
As I am immersed in and surrounded by a culture that is based in so many ways on RELIGION, I am reminded so often of what God is calling us to be as Christians...set apart. Am I set apart from the culture of religion around me? Am I set apart in a way that each and every parent (or child) I encounter on a daily basis sees in me what it means to be a Christian? The word Christian was first used in Antioch by the Greeks or Romans and was given to the followers of Jesus. It was meant to distinguish them from the multitude around them. As a disciple and follower of Christ, am I living up to my name as a Christian? Am I really living as a child of the King?
I thought about that point specially last week during our first Easter service at our new church here in Sol de La Molina. What better way to celebrate Christ's resurrection together than to begin our baptism and Lord's Supper ordinances. Tears filled my eyes as I watched four people of different backgrounds, ages, and lifestyles come to point of obedience to Christ. The first person to be baptized into our church was a dear grandmother who has chosen to leave the religion around her to know the fullness of a true relationship with Christ. Stepping into that water, she made the choice to be set apart...to be identified with Christ. As I listened to her testimony, I was convicted at how lightly I take being a follower of Christ. Am I really willing to give all to follow Him?
Later that week I had the opportunity to visit with a dear family at a friend's birthday party. As I talked with my friend's father, who has great experience of work in the Peruvian government, I listened and was amazed at his stories of meeting the Pope. As I watched his face telling the story, I saw the joy and pride in his face when he shared that his testimony of being a Christian was known to those he worked with so often. He told of how each person presented to the Pope must bow to him and kiss his ring. However, as a Christian, this man knew why he should bow to another man. When it became his turn to greet the Pope, the man introducing him said, “This is ____, he is an evangelical Christian.” To which the Pope responded, “Ah, so you read the Bible?” Of course, he responded, “Yes.”
The next time he had the opportunity to meet the Pope, he was introduced the same yet this time the Pope remembered him and responded, “____, Do you still read the Bible?” Even the Pope, the leader of the Catholic church, recognized that to be a Christian, means to be different. In a culture of religion, being a Christian is known as being set apart to Christ. Does He have my entire life, my entire heart, my entire being. Am I completely and utterly set apart for Him? Am I that living light for all of those He has placed in my life?
