“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household? “So have no fear of them…” Matthew 10:24-26
When was the last time anyone called you a name? That sounds like a grade school thing, doesn’t it? Besides the usual names, I was called “Dorf” and “Dwarf” and of course “Dork.” And then there were the variations on my first name. That’s very childish, and adults don’t generally do that.
Or do they? If you read the news, you’ll see many political people speaking politely – but listen more closely to their words and they are often making terrible accusations against each other. They may not call each other “dummy” or “ugly.” But they imply much worse things.
How do you feel when you’ve been insulted? We say that “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.” And yet names do hurt. They attack our pride, our sense of self-worth, our value.
But Jesus makes it sound different. We are following an amazing master. We are following the Son of God, our Good Shepherd. So we should know that if people have called Jesus names (like Beelzebul, which means Lord of the Flies), then surely they will call us names too.
And yet the names did not change who Jesus was, did they? Names did not make Jesus any less great, and they did not stop him from his great sacrifice for us. And so names cannot harm us either.
We already have a more important name that no one can take away, no matter what they call us. We are Jesus’ sheep. We are his bride. We are called Christians, servants of Christ.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, help me not be afraid of what others might say or think – but only to desire your words of love for me. I am glad that you call me “friend.” Amen.