Am I a Christian?
[...] The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
— Acts 11:26
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
— John 13:35
I frequently wonder what it means to be a Christian, who deserves to be called Christian? I look around and see many that claim to be Christians, but their life, their actions, their words, are very much unlike Christ.
I've been wondering about the nature of names.
It seems to me that names usually are not something we choose ourselves, we receive them from other people.
Our parents give us a name; our family give us a name; our friends give us names (nicknames are names as well); everyone around may give us a name.
Cool; Funny; Boring; Silly; Square; Arsehole; Caring;
These are also names we receive, not always we know about them. These we receive from how we act around others, from the identities others see in us.
Christian, I feel, is only a legitimate name when received from others, when others see us as following the Way of Jesus Christ, when others see this as our identity.
Naming myself Christian is meaningless, it is an identity that others have to see in me, when others see Christ through my life, my actions, my words.
Am I a Christian?