Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. – Judges 7:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 27, 2015): Judges 7

The earliest use of the word “Christian” was probably as a term of derision for the early church, or the “followers of the way” as they would have most likely described themselves. To be a Christian was almost the same as being a criminal. The name Christian itself simply means “follower of Christ,” which to the early observers was simply a ludicrous statement. Why would you follow an executed criminal rather than someone of power and influence – like Caesar? But more than that, Christians were often accused of being guilty of disturbing the peace. They tended to enter into an area and disrupt the common practices – especially if those practices involved worshipping other gods. The common practice at the time was to add gods to the Roman Pantheon of Gods because there was no limit to the number of Gods that Rome could serve. But the Christians and their Jewish predecessors had this silly idea that their God was the only god and they resisted the idea of their God becoming just one of the many. Once a person became a Christians, it was common practice to devalue and throw away the gods they had served previously – and that disrupted the commerce and the social institutions of the day. So the term “Christian” was a term of dishonor.

But it didn’t take long for the Christians to adapt the name as a term of honor. The name “Christian” fit – it described exactly who they were as “followers of Christ.” What was meant originally to be a put down, became a term that the group of believers used to describe themselves.

In the story of Gideon, we see the same process happen with this God-called Judge. After he destroyed the altar dedicated to Baal, his enemies and servants of Baal began to refer to Gideon as “Jerub-baal” – the name literally means “let Baal contend” with him. But by the time we reach this part of the story, Gideon has accepted the name as a badge of honor. He most likely interpreted the name as “the enemy of Baal,” which was the perfect describer of exactly who Gideon was. He was the enemy of Baal and he meant for this false god to have to contend with him. And so Gideon begins to call himself “Jerub-baal.”

I admit that I have had a struggle with the term Christian. I have often joked that if the name just wasn’t so biblical I might choose another. But the truth is that more than 2000 years after the time of Christ, the name remains a good describer of who I am – a follower of Christ. My prayer is that I can live up to the name, even if in some areas the name is still used as one of derision.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Judges 8