What is your name?

"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 kerosene on the sleeping soldier and 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." "
(http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=6515)

Christology is first and foremost the central doctrine in Christian theology. Belief in Christ Jesus is (at best) a burden to the gospel if it remains head knowledge and if it is never imitated by the believer. Let no unbeliever’s testimony of Christianity be negatively influenced by your lifestyle – you may never know who it is that you are influencing. More importantly, you may never know the impact that the people whom you influence will one day make. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” How embarrassing.

Let this be on our minds often. If we call ourselves Christians, living for the will of God, we must do it in His strength – always abiding in Him – always having a humble and repentant heart. Sin happens, I understand – even God understands! But to the person who is a professed Christian without making constant effort toward life for Christ, I believe God is lovingly, but sternly, saying:

“Soldier, either change the Name by whom you live or change your conduct.”