Several versions of the story I shared last Sunday exist today. In some versions, the young soldier shows cowardice in battle. In others, he is derelict in his assigned duties. In this version, the most popular one, he is caught sleeping while on guard duty. Whichever version one prefers, the point is still the same. We must live up to our calling and the name we bear.
Alexander the Great, one of the greatest military generals who ever lived, conquered almost the entire known world with his vast army. One night during a campaign, he couldn't sleep and left his tent to walk around the campgrounds.
As he was walking, he came across a soldier asleep on guard duty – a serious offense. The penalty for falling asleep on guard duty was, in some cases, instant death - the commanding officer sometimes poured a flammable substance on the sleeping soldier and then lit it.
The soldier began to wake up as Alexander the Great approached him. Recognizing who was standing in front of him, the young man feared for his life. "Do you know what the penalty is for falling asleep on guard duty?" Alexander the Great asked the soldier. "Yes, sir," the soldier responded in a quivering voice.
"Soldier, what's your name?" demanded Alexander the Great. "Alexander, sir." Alexander the Great repeated the question: "What is your name?" "My name is Alexander, sir," the soldier repeated. A third time and more loudly Alexander the Great asked, "What is your name?" A third time the soldier meekly said, "My name is Alexander, sir."
Alexander the Great then looked the young soldier straight in the eye. "Soldier," he said with intensity, "either change your name or change your conduct."
No doubt, too many times our Lord has looked down from Heaven and desired to say to me, “Christian, either change your name or change your ways.” My hope is that I will grow increasingly aware of the significance of the name of Christ that I bear as a Christian, and in so doing, will become more faithful to my calling in that name, and thus to better represent Him through my ways. Do you share a similar desire? If not, should you?
Alexander the Great, one of the greatest military generals who ever lived, conquered almost the entire known world with his vast army. One night during a campaign, he couldn't sleep and left his tent to walk around the campgrounds.
As he was walking, he came across a soldier asleep on guard duty – a serious offense. The penalty for falling asleep on guard duty was, in some cases, instant death - the commanding officer sometimes poured a flammable substance on the sleeping soldier and then lit it.
The soldier began to wake up as Alexander the Great approached him. Recognizing who was standing in front of him, the young man feared for his life. "Do you know what the penalty is for falling asleep on guard duty?" Alexander the Great asked the soldier. "Yes, sir," the soldier responded in a quivering voice.
"Soldier, what's your name?" demanded Alexander the Great. "Alexander, sir." Alexander the Great repeated the question: "What is your name?" "My name is Alexander, sir," the soldier repeated. A third time and more loudly Alexander the Great asked, "What is your name?" A third time the soldier meekly said, "My name is Alexander, sir."
Alexander the Great then looked the young soldier straight in the eye. "Soldier," he said with intensity, "either change your name or change your conduct."
No doubt, too many times our Lord has looked down from Heaven and desired to say to me, “Christian, either change your name or change your ways.” My hope is that I will grow increasingly aware of the significance of the name of Christ that I bear as a Christian, and in so doing, will become more faithful to my calling in that name, and thus to better represent Him through my ways. Do you share a similar desire? If not, should you?