What is Your Nickname?

Daily Devotional – Wednesday, June 28, 2023
…for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
1 John 4:20 (NKJV)

A few days ago, a fellow believer revealed to me that people in my neighbourhood have a faith-oriented nickname for me in line with my faith. “If you ever lower your spiritual standards, you will really let God down among these people,” my friend warned. Since then, I have realized it is both a privilege and a challenge to represent God in the world.

You Bear God’s Name

Millennia ago, while addressing his favourite topic (love), Apostle John posed, “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20).

According to John, we demonstrate our love for the invisible God through our treatment of His visible children. To paraphrase a wise person, since you claim to know God and people have never seen Him, you are the only ‘God’ such people know. How you represent God, then, matters.

The Origin of Nicknames

Back to my neighbourhood nickname. Had my friend not told me about it, I would have remained ignorant. I realized people had decided what to call me based on how I behaved or how I interacted with them. They judged my words and actions based on criteria of their own. My behaviour, to them, depicted the God I professed to serve.

I am now more conscious than ever not to misrepresent Christ in my neighbourhood and wherever I spend my time. It is a privilege to be an agent of heaven. At the same time, the weight is so overwhelming; I fear I might give the wrong impression of God to non-believers and those younger in faith than me.

What is Your Nickname?

What is your faith-oriented nickname? Does it reveal a practical connection with Jesus or a superficial profession of faith? Can your acquaintances and strangers attest that you are a follower of Christ? Determine today, by the grace and power of God, to be a fitting reflection of God’s unconditional love and His transforming power in your community.

Prayer
Dear Jesus, whatever nickname people give me, let it be a product of my positive character, stemming from a practical daily experience with You.