The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. – Acts 11:26

Today, people refer to themselves as Christians.  It is a term that we use to explain what we believe. Unfortunately, to the unbelieving world around us, it has come to mean hypocrisy, bigotry, hatred, intolerance, and a lot of other negative words.  I can’t say that I completely disagree with the world’s perspective because an awful lot of the meanest people I know actually call themselves Christians.

Originally, it was not like this.  When Paul started making disciples at Antioch, they changed, just like Christians are supposed to.  They changed so much that the unbelieving world around them said, “These people are like little Jesus’s running around here.”  They became so much like Him that others associated them with Him.

Isn’t that the goal?  Shouldn’t we be so much like Him that the world at the very least recognizes Him inside of us?  Nobody ever looked at Jesus and said that He didn’t love people.  In fact, He got in most of His trouble by helping people that most religious people thought shouldn’t be helped to begin with, or, if He did help, shouldn’t have been helped when they were helped.

Today, let’s you and I walk as He walked.  What if we tried to simply treat people like He treated people?  How long would it take for the unbelieving world to say, “It is like having a miniature version of Jesus walking around here!”

Would to God that this could happen again.

Lord, make me like you. 

Make me a little version of you.

Make me a Christian as it was defined in the first century.