2002-08-30 - Name-dropping

What do you think of when you hear the name Rockefeller - immense wealth? How about the (Billy) Graham family name - evangelism? What does the name Manson trigger in your mind - torture and murder? As my minister pointed out in a recent sermon, how many parents do you know who call their daughters Jezebel? We do mentally associate people's names with character, lifestyle and more.

For those of us who are Christians, we bear the name of Christ. Our lives should reflect His character, too. Think with me for a moment - Do your attitudes and behavior reflect Christ's character all day long? How about when someone cuts you off in traffic? When someone makes a mistake that causes you an inconvenience? When someone crashes into your brand-new car?

If we are "snappish" with people, do as little as we can to get by at work (or school), tell "little white lies" etc., what will people think of our Christian walk? What will they think of the Lord whose name we bear?

As we grow in Christian maturity, we should reflect more and more the character of Christ:

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NRSV) And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

I encourage you to do as I plan to do: Let's travel mentally through a typical day in our lives, and see how well we are representing the name of Christ. Where we fall short, let's ask our Lord to help us bear the name in a way that will draw people to Him.

Jan

jan@cfdevotionals.org
http://www.cfdevotionals.org