The Name I Wear - The REAL Audacity of Hope! I Wear the Name of Christian

I Wear the Name of Christian. The Name I Wear is the real "Audacity of Hope!"

Never underestimate the power of a name worn in integrity. (by Wbisbill)

I make a meaningful stroll down memory lane. I am discussing football or fishing with my father. It is hard to know which topic it is, for we always move from one to the other like that revolving door I played with as a child. I say, “Yes dad, Mr. Jones has great trouble remembering how to say my name; he calls me ‘Ice-Bill!’” I go on, “I told him it didn’t matter!” Little did I know that this is a button I should not push! My father quickly retorts, “It does matter! Our name is ‘Isbill’ and it is to be pronounced ‘Is-A-Bull.’ Remember we are Isbill’s; this is who we are; wear it ‘proud!’”

Everyone does not agree with this premise about names, but it is true. Do you remember Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, 1594:

What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet;

The apparent message of Shakespeare is that what matters is what something is, not what it is called. It might also have been that Shakespeare is making a little folly with these lines. “The Rose was a local rival to his Globe Theatre and is reputed to have had less than effective sanitary arrangements. The story goes that this was a coy joke about the smell. This certainly has the whiff of folk etymology about it, but it might just be true.” (see The Phrase Finder)

However, the real truth is that it does matter what name you wear.

Think with me of the evolution of linguistics. What a pitifully poor language ours would be without names. We name everything. As we explore new things in our universe from the latest species to far flung planets, to recently discovered quantum particles to new dog breeds, the first thing we do is name them. In this world there are loads of names today, and the people have come to say, "What's in a name?" "Nothing is in a name," they say. Yet I think there is. I think if it were not for names, this would be a world of confusion and disorder. We could not discover anything, any moment, or any place, if it were not for the names that are given to each singular thing.

All my school days were not pleasant. There was that dreaded Spanish class, dreaded only because I was often not prepared. For some reason my teacher, La Senora Aburrido thought I had a knack for Espanol; I was very much aware of it, and I knew she would call upon me so I had to devise a plan. Vocabulary was a part of every class, and she enjoyed picking on all of us perceived prodigies. Eureka! It hit me one day like a lightning flash. I rushed to class during our short interim between boredoms; I grabbed that Spanish “el libro”, turned to the vocabulary section and looked for the hardest, longest name and committed it to “rapido” short-term memory. When La Senora Aburrido began her class; ASAP, I raised my hand before she called on me and with gusto and confidence volunteered an answer. It worked like the sunrise, and she would not call on me again and my class and grade were safe for the day. Don’t tell me a name isn’t important!

As we express an idea, we use the words that always convey that idea. If we devise a new idea, a new conception, we need different words to describe it, or to name it. Therefore, I am glad to reveal a name I wear with a good kind of pride. As my father says, “We are Isbill’s”, I say, “I am Christian.” I wear this name and I am not ashamed or embarrassed to let you know. It represents the audacity of my hope. I wear the name of Christian!

I will wear and be content with the name that God has given. One of the most motivating studies in the Bible is based upon names. God, in His dealings with His people, has always given names that carry a rich meaning. He expresses a very definite idea and conception of things. For a great Old Testament example, Israel comes to mind here. God changes Jacob’s name to Israel to rename him and to transform him and a whole nation to follow. The name “Israel”, literally meant the people of God, or the people of God's prince. Every time the name is spoken, honor is given to God, and the idea is expressed that these are the people of God; the people that God is blessing; the people through whom God is working; the people especially chosen of God.

Now to the New Testament:

Matthew 16:18 (Modern King James Version) And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Although the above Scripture is shrouded by different interpretations throughout the Christian denominations, there is this simple fact upon which most agree. As God moved through Jacob, so Jesus (through Peter’s confession) is building a nation of “called out” believers. The word “church” is not designated as place or building but a people of God, called by Jesus. This is evident when our Lord emphatically states, “I will build MY church.” He is both founder and owner. All believers are people of Jesus.

This verse is worthy of much study, but for my purpose it tells me that I am not called by men, but called by God Himself; for, of the believers, Isaiah says:

(Isaiah 62:2 MKJV) And the nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; and you will be called by a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah will name.

This is why I wear my name in audacity. I wear it proudly.

(Act 11:26) … And the disciples were first called Christian in Antioch.)

Wow! What a name to wear. Christian, the partisans of Christ, the followers of Christ, the people of Christ, the “Christianos” (Greek Transliteration, or the “little” Christs). The folks at Antioch needed to give these disciples a name, and God said they would be called by a new name. So, I wear the name of Christian!

I am a Christian!

From Israel in the Old Testament to Christian in the new, God’s people and Christ’s church are one.

I am a Christain!

Therefore, this name Christian, by which the disciples were first called in Antioch, is the name that Jehovah has given to His people and it is the name which I wear in audacity today. It is the name that is above every name; it is Christ, the anointed One, who would have His people to wear the title of Christian.

Some smear this identification, some muse in it, some try to hide it, but I wear it! Jesus Christ is my hope, lifeline and my reason. I am Christian. It does matter what people call me! I am Christian.

1Peter 4:14 (MKJV) If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of God and of glory rests on you. Truly according to them, He is blasphemed, but according to you He is glorified.

When I look at this passage, I understand why so many hate this name, but when I wear it faithfully, God says I am blessed. God’s Spirit rests upon me.

1Peter 4:16 But if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God because of this.

To wear the name of Christian is not always the easiest or the most popular. However, I will not be ashamed of it because Christ Himself gave it to me. It is part of my calling. Instead I will be glad to be a Christian.

What is a Christian?

What is one that wears and bears this name? What is one that hides himself today in the name that God has given? He is one that has been born into Christ; one that is abiding in Christ.

I am proud to be an American! I am born in America, I live my life in America; I speak American; I dress American. I wear America everywhere I go. A Tennessean is one that is born in Tennessee and abides therein. I am a Tennessean. A Christian is one born into Christ not of any earthly seed but of a heavenly kernel, a seed that is more precious to me than silver or gold. I am a Christian; some criticize, “How audacious!” Yes, you’re right. I am not ashamed of the name I wear!

I am “Isbill” and I wear it “proud.” It is the name of my father and my father’s father. It is our name since before John Isbell crossed the Atlantic from England many years ago. It is our name traceably rich in history back to “Isabel(l)(a)” (medieval Europe); to “Elizabeth,”; to the mother of John the Baptist; to “Elisheva” in Exodus 6:23 as the name of Aaron’s wife

Likewise, I am “American” and I wear it proudly. Its vesture is earned through the blood of many and I will not be ashamed to wear the red, white and blue.

I am “Christian” and I wear it audaciously. It is given me by my Father who named me after His Son. It is traceably rich in meaning back to that time in Antioch when we were called this, mockingly by some and respectfully by others. However, the disciples accepted it without question and wore it proudly and saw it as given by prophecy (Isaiah) by God, the Father Himself as a testimony of being like His beloved Son.

Thus, I am entitled to wear the name that Jehovah has given— I am twice born; proud to be an American and even more so to be a Christian. I wear the name “Isbill” with pleasure and I wear the name of Jesus Christ with greater delight. My heavenly Father (the “Abba” of my life!) wants me to wear it in this world that His Son, the magnificent One, who has a name above every name in earth or heaven, may be glorified in me. This is what it means to carry His name. All of us; everyone that have confessed their faith in Him, and taken His word as the rule of life to follow wear this cloak. We are Christians. This is who we are. Wear it “proud.”

It is a glorious thing to me when men say to me, What religion are you? I say simply “I am a Christian.” We live in a time of varied belief systems even in Christendom, it is such a pleasure to transcend those differences for a moment and realize that when all the sermons are preached and every flaw we have is revealed, there is more that unites us than we ever imagined. I am Christian; I belong to that group born into Christ, and following Him and named after Him and named for His glory. "I am a Christian." I give glory to Christ, not to man nor system nor creed, but to Christ. I am a Christian. What kind of a Christian? I am just a Christian. Please God, a Christian. If I can say it, mean it and be what it implies, then I have said the greatest thing that can be said in all this world. I have made the greatest declaration that can fall from the lips of man, if I can say I am a Christian. This is my audacity of hope.