Be Who You Now Are

I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. In a sense, he’s saying to the Christian community, “Be who you now are.” One of my favorite anecdotes from the ancient world I’ve told in other contexts, which the story of Alexander the Great, whose armies of course conquered the whole ancient world. And on one occasion for battle, a young soldier became so paralyzed with fear that he fled the battle scene in a cowardly act of retreat. And when the battle was over, he was more or less arrested by what the MPs would be in Alexander’s army. And this young soldier was brought to the tent of Alexander the Great himself. And you can imagine the terror and the embarrassment and the shame of this young fellow, when he was escorted into the tent of Alexander the Great. And Alexander looked at the soldier and said to the young man, “Son, what's your name?” And the boy replied, “My name is Alexander.” Alexander the Great said, “Well son, you either change your conduct or change your name.” So, it’s kind of like what Paul is saying to those of us who call ourselves Christians. That if we’re not going to display the name of Christ in our lives, then we better change our names.