«l have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing». 2 Timothy 4:7, 8
DURING THE FIRST YEARS of Christianity, Jesus’s followers identified themselves with expressions such as «brethren» (Acts 1:15, 16), «disciples» (Acts 6:1), «believers» (1 Thessalonians 2:13), and «saints» (1 Corinthians 14:33). On the other hand, their enemies mocked them and called them «Galileans» (Acts 2: 7) or «the sect of the Nazarenes» (Acts 24:5). But when the gospel first reached the city of Antioch, its inhabitants found a new way of calling Christ’s disciples: «Christians» (Acts 11:26).
It’s interesting that those who gave that name to Christ’s disciples were not themselves followers of Christ, but heathen. We don’t know whether these heathens did it as a gesture of pious respect or as an epithet to label the faithful as fanatics, although Antiochians were famous for their mocking. «In any event,» writes Maude De Joseph West, «it is the name which Christ’s followers have worn from that day onward, sometimes to His glory and sometimes, alas, to His embarrassment.».
But why «Christians»? Soldiers who were under a general’s command used to take on their commander’s name with the added suffix of «-ian» so everyone would know they were their followers. That is why Caesar’s soldiers were Caesarians; Pompey’s soldiers were Pompeians; Herod’s soldiers were Herodians. Therefore, by calling ourselves Christians, we acknowledge we are soldiers of Christ’s army.
The apostle Paul told Timothy, «You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ» (2 Timothy 2:3). As Christians we are part of «the good warfare» (1 Timothy 1:18) and we are called to «fight the good fight of faith» (6:12). And we who are fighting as part of the Lord’s army have been promised that when the war ends we will receive «the crown of righteousness» along with «all who have loved [the Lord’s] appearing» (2 Timothy 4:8).
Today we are called to do battle; but very soon we will celebrate the wonderful victory God has promised each of His children.
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2023
“I AM WITH YOU”
From: J. VLADIMIR POLANCO
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Avineyda Hernández
