A Spitting Image

Like many kids, I was given my father’s first name for my middle name.  As I have grown older and gained more and more respect for my father, I have become more and more proud to carry his name.  As a matter of fact, the last time I was at Starbucks I put my order in under my middle name, which caused my recitation instructor, who happened to be there, a small bit of confusion. 

Truth be told, I carry the name of more than one father.  I also carry the name “Christian,” identifying me as part of God’s family.  Unfortunately, I haven’t always been as proud as I should be to carry God’s name.  There have been times that I have been embarrassed to admit that I cannot do something in good conscience because of being God’s son.  There have been times that I could have told people about being God’s son, about how proud I am and how awesome my dad is.  Unfortunately, I have not always taken advantage of those opportunities. 

In Romans 1, Paul said “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”  For a long time, I looked at this as applying just to evangelism in the sense of sitting someone down and teaching them a book of the Bible.  Lately, though, I have realized that it goes much further than that.  I can study the Bible with a couple of people and get everything else completely wrong.  I want to put aside the “religious terminology” for a moment.  This is what it is all about: due to God’s amazing plan and His awe-inspiring love, I don’t have to pay for my sins.  I have forgiveness, and my relationship with God has been restored.  That small bit of information right there is enough to say that I have an amazing father.  As a natural reaction, I ought to want to tell everyone about Him.

Allow me to backtrack for a moment.  Part of the reason I like having my Dad’s name is that I like being identified with him.  Another reason is that I like to think that I’m like him in some ways.  Occasionally, when talking about some serious stuff, I hear the way that I say things and it reminds me of the way that my dad says things, and I find that pretty cool.  Now here’s the bigger question: do I do things like God?  Do I act in a godly way?  Do I have a zeal for righteousness?  Do I have a selfless concern for others?  That is a challenging thought that helps me to humbly realize that no matter how much I try to justify myself and become complacent in my current position, the fact is that I still have a long way to go.  And that’s okay, because my Father is a very empowering person. 

Ephesians 3:20-21: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

"It is because Christians have largely cased to think of  the other world that they have become so faithful in this." - C.S. Lewis