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Themes Christian - a good name A NEW NAME From the front gate of Buckingham Palace, the avenue called The Mall runs northeast until it reaches the Admiralty Arch. There it opens onto a large square. The square is surrounded by famous churches, government buildings, the palace of Westminster and the City of London, England. Trafalgar Square is at the center of official London. In the center of the square stands a giant pillar, almost ten stories tall At the top is a statue of Horatio Viscount Admiral Nelson. Like many people, you may wonder who Lord Nelson was and why the English put him on such a huge pole in the middle of London. The English were not very happy after the American Revolution. They thought they were the strongest nation on earth. However, the Americans threw them out and formed the United States. They were like a sports team that badly needs a win or two to cheer them up. Lord Nelson gave them those wins. At the battles of the Nile, Copenhagen, and finally Trafalgar, where he died, Lord Nelson led the British Navy to victory. He proved to the English that England was still the greatest country on earth. As you might expect, Lord Nelson was wildly popular. He was easily the most loved man in England. When he died at the age of 47, he died a great hero. He was the first "commoner" in England to be given a royal funeral (usually only for Kings, Queens and their families). England buries many of its famous in Westminster Abbey. However, England buried Lord Nelson under the great dome of St. Paul's Cathedral. Almost everyone in London came to his funeral. Lord Nelson had a stepson and daughter. Neither bore his name. The only one to carry on the name Nelson was his little godson, John Nelson Darby. When John Darby was about twenty years old, he trusted Christ as his Savior. Like everyone else who does that, he then got another name, Christian. Darby lived more than fifty years after that preaching throughout Europe and America. He seldom went home to London. The name "Nelson" did not mean as much in Europe or America as it did in England. His famous name "really" did not matter much. However, the name he received when he was born again, "Christian," is the name he lived for. He spent his life for that name. That is the only name that was important when he died. You may not have been born with a famous name, but you can have the most famous and important name, Christian, just like John Darby. Thank God you can be born again because of the Lord Jesus Christ and his death at the cross. Will you leave this world with just the name you were born with? Or, will you be born again, and take the name of Christ? "He that believeth on the Son, (Christ) hath everlasting life" (John 3:36).
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Jim Batterton
