Χριστιανὸν is the greek work that we translate as "Christian." The actual meaning of this Greek word in follower of Christ.
Do you ever feel like you have become desensitized to certain words or actions, or maybe even to watching or hearing certain things? I do, to often. It's easy to do because it's one of the ways that Satan tries to slowly get into our life. But did you ever think that Satan would ever try to desensitize you to the word Christian? Every time we list you're religious preference on a survey or talk about your faith at work or with friends, most of us probably talk in terms of being a Christian. That really doesn't mean as much as it might have at one time. I recently read that as many as 85% of Americans consider themselves to be a "Christian."
Think about it . . . do you think that 85% of Americans actually live as Christians? I doubt it. Do you think that 85% of the people you worship with really live as Christians? Maybe, barely.
Now what if we quit using the term Christian? What if, instead of saying Christian we said, "follower of Christ?" There's been times where it would be a lot harder for me to tell people that I am a follower of Christ - because it there has been times when I obviously wasn't following Him very closely, if at all. What about you?
If we all agreed to quit using the word "Christian" to describe our faith or religious affiliation one of two things would probably happen. (1) People would be much more considerate of whether they actually considered themself a follower of Christ and as a result not classify themselves as such so quickly or (2) people would start to realign their life so that it would look like they were actually following after Jesus more than they are now.
Honestly, old habits are hard to break. So I'll probably continue to refer to myself as a Christian. But I know that I'm going to try a lot harder to live as a follower of Christ.
good ideas, jeremy. i still refer to myself as a christian in some contexts, but in others i take the opportunity to address what the word is really supposed to mean. here in tanzania, when i'm asked whether or not i'm a christian. i say, "well it depends. what do you mean by christian." the individual usually then explains what he believes a christian is -- which is usually way off the mark, something about going to church or believing Jesus is the son of God.
ReplyDeleteto which i respond, "oh, no, then i'm not one." they always ask what i mean, and i have the opportunity to explain what it really means to be a christian.
Being willing to take the "unique" or different approach usually provides great opportunities. It works with "churched" folks as well.
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