Saturday 1 April

And he disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.                 Acts 11, 26.

This is where the designation "Christian comes from. The term was coined in this ancienty city of Syria. Since that time those who have surrndered their lives to the Redeemer Jesus Christ rightly bear this name. Being a Christian has nothing to do with the land where one lives, as many erroneously believe.

A man was once given an evangelistic book in a train. "Why have you given me this?" he inquired. - "I thought you would be interested. Tell me, are you a Christian?" - "Listen here!" the man answered gruffly, "Look at me closely! Do I Look like a Jew or a Chinaman?" - "No, you both look and speak like an American," was the reply. - "Well then, there you are!" he retorted.

In Chinese the word for "Christian" is "Jesus person". Genuine Christians should be people who present Jesus Christ recognizably. We are well aware that the word has lost much of its meaning today. Quite apart from the many organizations operating under a Christian banner without representing bibilical principles, there are also numerous people who profess to be Christians. They endeavour to lead an upright life, but they have no personal relationship to Christ.

We have to admit the true "Jesus people" are hard to come by nowadays, but there are still plenty of them, thank God! It is not sufficient to belong to a church and fulfil certain formalities to be a Christian: we have to believe in Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour and follow Him. That is then the fulfilment of our life, and it gains for us the approval of our Lord in heaven. In the final instance, that is what matters!