Name – pseudo or real?
Verse for Today: Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Acts 11:26 – The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
‘Christian’ is a name given by the outsiders to a group of people who lived according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. It was not a title developed by Christians. It was never meant to be a title for a religious group. It evolved because first the people of Antioch found the elements of the character of Christ in the people of the church at Antioch. The world found in them the qualities of the disciples of Jesus in these ordinary believers. When the believers at Antioch lived and behaved like the disciples of Jesus, the name ‘Christian’ fell on them spontaneously. They were first disciples and known as Christians because of it. Their values in life portrayed the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their priorities in life were that of the disciples of Jesus. For the disciples, Jesus came first and foremost in everything they did. They lived for Christ more than any thing else. They expressed their love to each other in the church as if they were members of the same body. They had great faith in Jesus as their partner in everything they did. Their lives exemplified the character of Jesus and His disciples. Their desires for Jesus were genuine. They followed Jesus not to make themselves members of a distinct group, but because they genuinely loved Jesus. When the people of Antioch saw in them a life like that of Jesus Christ and His disciples, they were called Christians as an expression of the true life that was found in them. This fact challenges us today to see if we qualify to be called Christians without showing evidences about His life in us.
Dear friend, are you primarily a disciple of Jesus or merely taking a title of a religious group? Are your priorities in life showing others around you that Jesus Christ is first and foremost in your life? Are you living and behaving as if Jesus Christ is a living reality in you? The disciples of Jesus saw the Lord Jesus and spent about 42 months with Him and slowly changed into His likeness. The believers in the church at Antioch exemplified such a life and lived as if they saw the Lord Jesus face to face. Their lives and life styles were changed and were filled with a perspective that Jesus was alive in them. They proved with their lives that they were dead and buried and that they lived in and through Jesus. So when people saw them and communicated with them, it was obvious that their lives were like that of the disciples of Jesus. They were primarily disciples of Jesus Christ in every sense of the term. Today we are given the opportunity to live to exemplify the life of Jesus in character, behavior and attitude so that our lives will be like that of the disciples of Jesus. Our vision of the Lord Jesus has to be seen in us so that we would also qualify to progress in the path of the disciples of Jesus and thus become Christians in the true sense of the term. The Christians of Antioch were first disciples and so were qualified to receive the title of being a ‘Christian’. Will we qualify to be ‘Christians’ today? If not, it is time to come to Jesus, get to know Him more intimately and allow Him to change us to become His disciples so that we will be known as followers of Jesus Christ. Today we have the opportunity to start walking after Jesus, imitate Him in all aspects of our lives and slowly emerge into His likeness and be transformed into His likeness. If we do not start today, we loose one more day to follow Him. Would you loose the opportunity to be His disciple or loose everything else to be His disciple?
1 John 4:17 – …. As He (Jesus) is, so are we in this world.
Thought for Today
To know and follow Jesus Christ and be known as His true disciple in practical life is the greatest honor and opportunity.
To know and follow Jesus Christ and be known as His true disciple in practical life is the greatest honor and opportunity.
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