CALLED CHRISTIANS

“The disciples were CALLED CHRISTIANS first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26).

You will notice that the name “Christian” did not originate with the disciples. The disciples did not call themselves “Christians.” It was a “nickname” given to them from those outside the church. It was as if the world was saying, “Look at those follows of Christ… They are acting like ‘little-Christs.’”

In the December, 1987 LIFE magazine, there was an article about a scene in the movie “IRONWEED” starring Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson.

Meryl Streep played a ragged derelict who dies in a cheap hotel room. For more than half an hour before filming the scene she embraced a huge bag of ice cubes in an agonizing effort to experience how it feels to be a corpse. When the cameras began to film, Jack Nicholson, her derelict lover, sobs and screams and shakes her cold lifeless body. Through take after take—and between takes—Meryl just lies still like an iced mackerel. Concerned, a member of the crew whispers to the director, Hector Babenco, “What’s going on? She’s not breathing!”

Meryl’s body showed absolutely no sign of life while the cameras rolled. Babenco hesitates, but allows the scene to continue. After the shot is made, Meryl continues to lie there, gray and still. Only after 10 minutes did she slowly, emerge from the coma-like state into which she had deliberately sunk.

Babenco exclaimed in amazement: “Now THAT, is acting! And THAT, is an actress!” No one questions Meryl Streep’s dedication to acting.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see someone so dedicated to Christ that people would look at them and say, “Now THAT is a Christian!”

In a way, you can’t answer the question, “Are you a Christian?” You must ask those who know you best whether you are or aren’t! It is not what you say about yourself that makes an impact. It’s what others say about you that makes a difference.

Do OTHERS say about YOU, “Now THAT is a Christian!”