What’s In A Name

I had breakfast with a friend the other day and while attempting to solve several world problems, I looked around the little cafe to see other pairs or small groups of folks quite intent in their conversations, clearly working on issues of worldly import. When it became apparent that my friend and I would not come up with a solution to the Conservation of Natural Resources issue, we shifted gears and topics. We started a game of “do you remember…” and since both of us, my friend and I, have extensive pasts (we’re old) we began to turn on lights in seldom used rooms. For instance: what TV show had characters with the following names: Ming the Merciless, Dale Arden, Dr. Zarkov? The lead actor was a very handsome Olympic Gold medalist in swimming, Buster Crabbe. Coming back to you now?

Flash Gordon was a TV treat back in the 1950s. If Flash said it, it had to be true. He always got the upper hand because he was virtuous, a soldier for the good. Every kid I knew wanted to be Flash, a name that became associated with courage, intelligence, strength and inevitable victory over the evil Ming week after week. What’s in a name?

How about the name “Christian?” Historians tell us that the word was first used in the city of Antioch long after the death and resurrection of Christ. It is associated with the travels of Paul and Barnabas, described in Acts 11 in the New Testament. But here’s the most interesting part: the word Christian means “little Christs”. Those of us who subscribe to the Christian faith are “little Christs” Now, that has all kinds of implications, doesn’t it. What if we all understood our calling and purpose in life to be “little Christs” for our community and our world? But, that’s exactly what we should be doing, isn’t it. We shouldn’t claim the name if we don’t live the life. Imagine what our communities would be like if, when we leave church every Sunday morning, we acted like “little Christs.”

Flash fought the evil Ming week after week. But when the series ended, it was all over. Jesus lived, died, and lives again in the minds, the hearts and the hands of “little Christs” and he calls to us to be diligent in honoring the name Christian. Can you imagine yourself to be a “little Christ” in the world around you. Wasn’t it Albert Einstein who said “imagination is a preview of coming attractions in life.”

Imagine that. Press on.