First called Christians…

 

“The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch”.

In my mind, the statement begs the question: why? Why called Christians and why in Antioch? This information forms part of the book of Acts in the New Testament which we know was written by Luke who was a doctor and accompanied the Apostle Paul on many of his journeys around Asia Minor.

Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman Empire with a population of about 700,000 and was notorious as a haven of lust and pleasure. Dr Constable in his commentary on Acts notes: “The Roman satirist, Juvenal, complained, ‘The sewage of the Syrian Orontes has for long been discharged into the Tiber.’ By this he meant that Antioch was so corrupt it was impacting Rome, more than 1,300 miles away.” And yet it is here, in this city of corruption, greed and sex that the disciples were first called Christians.

I’m still asking the question: why?

It’s important to remember how distorted the term Christian has become over the years. And let’s not forget, the believers did not choose it for themselves – it was put upon them more as a nickname and a label than a term of endearment. It literally means ‘those of the party of Christ’, or, ‘Christ followers’. It was, in the eyes of their critics, an appropriate term for those who were obviously following the ways of Jesus rather than pursuing the lifestyle of Antioch. It suited their behaviour. As the Disciples of Christ, they were labelled Christ followers. The difference was obvious for all to see and that is why they were called it.

So why are we called Christians? Again, it’s a good question. Is it because we believe certain things – or at least profess that we do? Is it because we will live in a certain part of the world -albeit that argument has less authority nowadays? Is it because we live with Christian parents or attend a Christian church? Or were we ‘made’ Christians as a result of baptism as a baby?

The way I see it, there can only be one reason to bear the nickname and that is if we are following the Christ. Of course we can gloss that up in a whole manner of ways. We can shake it, stir it and even subvert it, but a Christ follower is not someone who has so much signed up to a set of doctrines, but rather laid down their life for the cause of Christ. And at such a high cost, it’s not a term to be taken lightly. But is it?

Make the most of now

“I just want to say thank you for giving up your time…”

Those were the opening words from a note someone passed over to me recently. The person had asked if we could pop by and see them as a matter of importance. It was a Saturday. I don’t normally do visits on Saturday, but this time we did.

When we arrived we sat down and listened and listened again. Then we said a few words and listened some more. Then we left.

In the note they wrote, “You helped me realise I should be grateful for my life”. And, yes, we should. But I think such insight comes through self realisation rather than taught values. There are some things in life you have to discover on your own and gratitude is one of them.

The other is the value of time, which they too had learnt, hence the way the note commenced. You never value time until you have an adequate gauge from which to measure it. For most of us, that comes in our thirties or forties when you start to sensibly measure what is left by what has passed. It’s a sobering yet important practice. And, if done properly can be an empowering process.

We ought to be careful with the time we are given since you can never be sure of when it will end.

I was travelling home from a difficult meeting recently. Along the way I drove passed a billboard advertising the use of broadband on your mobile. It was a Vodafone advert and the caption at the bottom read, ‘Make the most of now’. Jesus said a similar thing but in a different way. ‘Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself’. Concentrate on now.

Now is the only thing we hold in our hands. Yesterday has passed, and tomorrow will never come simply because if it does that too will be now. The power to act, change, decide, live, give, hope and pray all lies in the now. It is the time you have in your hands that matters. So take it and use it wisely, for when is has passed it will be no more and you will only be left with now.

Time is much more precious than wealth. So remember, the next person who says to you, ‘Thank you for your time’. Understand you have given them the most important of all the gifts God bestows upon us.

Live Earth

 

Last night I sat down to watch ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. It’s the first time I have seen it and it just happened to coincide that it was also the weekend of the Live Earth Concerts. The decision was not intentional. Someone loaned the film to me last week and Sunday night was my first chance to view it. Maybe someone is trying to tell me something. 

Anyhow, what a great communicator that Al Gore guy is. No wonder he ran for president. His style was very disarming and his material enlightening.  

Now I have a confession to make. I’m not too clued up on all this green issue stuff. I know I should be but…  Of course, I’m more clued up having watched the ‘movie’ than before and I am thinking of changing my ways – or at least some of them. I like most people, change by degrees rather than directives. But apparently that’s the problem – degrees, that is. We’ve got too many of them and they keep rising and as a result our ice is melting which in turn means water is rising. And if it rises a lot then we are in trouble – big trouble.  

Actually, I’m not sure that the church does green all that well. We’ve not had to you see. We are more heaven than earth people. We focus on personal redemption above societal transformation – our emphasis is on the after life rather than the former life. But things are changing – and not, in my opinion, because we have been wrong, but because we have been on the far right of the pendulum swing.  

So is God green? What should we do about global warming? Should Christians be environmentalists? 

It’s a hot issue and that’s the problem. A problem we cannot afford to avoid. So what do you think?