Here’s an interesting linguistic revelation (as profound as it is trivial):
In English there is one synonym for baptize which doesn’t exist in any other language. It is the verb christen. It’s made up of the noun Christ and the Greek suffix en, meaning “to make”. For example, when you whiten your teeth, you make them white. When you brighten a room, you make it bright. When God christens a person, God makes that person Christ.
Paul said in Philippians. 2:2 regarding Christ, “…being like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose”.
In Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
In Colossians 1:27, “God has chosen to make known…the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of Glory.
Here’s 4 questions to ponder:
-
Are you Christ yet? -
Have you ever been Christ? -
Can you be Christ? -
Will you be Christ?
The world doesn’t need another religion, it needs to see Christ. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “I like your Christ but I don’t like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ.” Pity, isn’t it.
Let’s make 2007 the year we become Christ to the World. Continuing with the quote from Philippians:
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus..”
Blessings for a Wonderful Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year!!
I like that word christen and I like the analysis. The more I long for Christ to be so in me that I am fully possessed by Him the more I do the wrong thing….my flesh is so strong….then i get caught up in the doing and lose the being…what a tangle. Mary somehow avoided that tangle. She must have been an NF. Of course she had a wonderful helper (Martha)getting all her stuff done…so on and on I go….Bill, we miss you here!
Hey Bill I miss you around g-ville. And we miss speedo too. Hope you are having fun living out this blog.