Name Change.
Alexander the Great was one of the most powerful and effective military generals in human history. What he was able to accomplish in such a short period of time still baffles modern historians and military generals alike. And while there are countless stories and myths that a person could point to in order to demonstrate his genius, my favorite story from his life also helps us understand one of the key truth’s found in the Bible.
And that truth is that the Christian bear’s the name of God! Let me explain.
During one of Alexander’s great conquests, and like many times before, he and his army were engaged in a very serious and important battle to take over more land in the region. But unlike other battles, this time one of his soldiers did the unthinkable, and defected from his ranks. While the fighting was at its fiercest, this particular soldier was filled with the certainty of death, and fled the scene of the fighting, exposing himself as a great coward, which was an unbelievable embarrassment to the Greeks. That man was of course tracked down, detained, and was forced to wait for that awful meeting he would have to have with his commander.
After the battle, the coward was brought into Alexander’s tent and forced to stand before the glorious leader in all of his shame. Seconds seemed like hours in that setting and it felt like the weight of a thousand horses was tied around his neck. While barely able to lift his own head, he stood trembling before his general, awaiting the sure condemnation that was to come.
Alexander finally broke the piercing silence. In his confident voice he spoke with great authority saying: “Soldier, why did you run??” leaving that statement hanging hauntingly in the air. After moments that seemed like lifetimes, the man finally forced out those obvious words to say: “Sir, I left because I was afraid.”
The next words out of Alexander’s mouth pierced the man. For in that moment, he would have preferred a death sentence instead of a question. He would rather have a spear plunged into his own heart than be asked the question that would follow. Instead of pronouncing his death, Alexander looked directly at the quivering man and said, “Soldier, what is your name?”. He asked as if he already knew the answer.
The soldier bowed his head in awful shame, barely able to admit the painful truth, that his name was also Alexander.
Upon hearing this, the mighty leader forcefully demanded, “Then you will either change your behavior, or you will change your name.”
This ends the story.
Now, I love this story, because of the obvious truth that it teaches. Alexander the Great demanded that anyone who shared his name would also behave like him. And, as the story suggests, it was a thoroughly repugnant to him that someone could be called Alexander and behave like such a coward. Alexander was a name reserved for champions, warriors, and the brave! So the very obvious conclusion for Alexander would be “Change your behavior, or change your name”. Brilliant!
But this also teaches me a powerful lesson about who I am as a Christian.
As a follower of Christ, I have been given a brand new and glorious name. Think about it, to be called a “Christian” is not a perfunctory or useless title, it is the unimaginable right and privilege that slaves like us could bear the name above all names! And more than slaves, we have become soldiers in His army, tasked with bringing His sovereign reign to all the nations. We are soldiers in a Kingdom far more expansive than Alexander’s Greece, and we bear a name infinitely more glorious and powerful than Alexander, which means we are infinitely more culpable to Him when we abuse His name.
Now trust me, I get it… It seems like all of us are in the think of a great battle right now. It feels like the war is raging all around us. And maybe, like this Greek solider, you feel like throwing in the towel. But let me remind you with a strong encouragement. If we bear so great a name as Jesus Christ, we cannot adopt the behavior of cowards! How could we give into fear, discouragement, or defection if we have been named with Him?
Instead, we must have the courage to ask ourselves the most obvious questions and be prepared to submit our entire life to the answers. Questions like:
Will my life honor the man whose name I bear?
Will I still battle when the fight get’s hard? Will I abandon Him when the temptations and fears rise up within me? Will I be about the mission of expanding His kingdom, or will I stay home and work on building up my own? Is my life worthy of rebuke by Jesus? Should He pull me into His tent and speak to me so plainly: “solider, change your behavior or change your name??”
These are important questions.
The point for me is clear: if I bear the name of Christ, then I ought to be living like Christ. His name on me should change me! I ought to be about His work, His mission, His Kingdom, His plans, His directions, and stop thinking about defecting to go do me!
If all we want are the benefits of His name, without the behavior that goes along with it, then we would do well to stop calling ourselves Christian. But, if we desire to live consistently, fully aware of the great name that we bear, then let us go out and live like Him as we seek to spread His great Kingdom to the ends of the earth.
