'28' - Day 11

The word “Christian” (Gk christianos) occurs only three times in the New Testament; Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28, and 1 Peter 4:16. It was originally a term meaning “a servant and follower of Christ.” Many of Paul’s letters capture his desire to be described in this way, even if he didn’t use the term “Christian”; “I, Paul, a SERVANT or SLAVE of Christ Jesus.”

Today, the term “Christian” has become a more general term, almost completely devoid of its original meaning. Rarely do people who flippantly use the term “Christian” recognize the connection between themselves and Jesus Christ as it pertains to His paying the ultimate price for their sin. Rarely do they have an intimate relationship with Christ. Rarely do they recognize Christ as the Lord and Master of their lives. Rarely do they realize that He is the source of their salvation and eternal life. Rarely do they accept Christ as their supreme authority and only source of future hope.

In business, when you’re working to improve something, the high-level improvement is known as the “Big Y.” This is your goal. This is what you want to achieve. For example, a fast food restaurant may want to improve the taste of its hamburger. That would be the Big Y. All of the little things that must be improved on in order to achieve the Big Y improvement are called the “little y’s.” In our example, the “little y’s” may be the quality and freshness of the vegetables or meat, processing and cooking time, cleanliness of the cooking and preparation area, etc.

When it comes to using the term “Christian” I wonder if we could differentiate between Christ-following "Big C" Christians and general use "little c" christians. What do you say? Are you a “Christian”, or are you a “christian”?