As a young teenager, I took music lessons at a local music school. My
teacher, a nice young man and very patient instructor, surprised me one day
by venting against Jesus Freaks. Not being committed to my faith and
questioning Christian teaching, I was afraid to respond and stayed silent.
The label suggested that following the Lord made someone to be odd,
believing in something to be obviously foolish, an outcast. I could not
reconcile the label to the godly, faithful people of my congregation, who
began each Sunday service singing the hymn, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
Almighty".
The writer of Acts describes the birth of the name Christian: "And a great
many people were added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for
Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole
year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in
Antioch the disciples were first called Christians." (Acts 11:24b-26 ESV).
The citizens of Antioch were known to be name-callers and mockers; the
ending of the word -- "-ian" meant "the group or party of". Being Christian
meant being Jesus-ites, or Jesus People. The word was used to make fun of
Christians, but they liked it so much, the word was adopted.
The Christian band The Newsboys, wrote these lyrics:
"What will people think when they hear that I'm a Jesus freak?
What will people do when they find that it’s true?
I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak --
There ain't no disguising the truth."
Christians are Jesus People, and are to be willing to be worthy of His Name.
We ought not be known first as Baptist, Pentecostal, or Presbyterian, but
as Christ-ian.
The good people of my congregation did the work of the church, and our
ministers dedicated themselves to growing strong healthy Christians, just as
Barnabas and Paul did. As we grew into spiritual maturity, and did His
work, the body of believers grew in numbers.
The label Jesus Freak, or Jesus People, may always be mocked, but we choose
instead to own in and be worthy of His Name.
Prayer: Dearest Lord, as we seek to follow You, and our church leaders
endeavour to build us up in the faith, may we be proud to be known as Jesus
People, and always be worthy of Your holy Name. Amen.
Shirley Moulton
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.