Years ago, I baptized a young woman, she was about 15 years old. I had performed her mom’s wedding ceremony when she married a wonderful man, and the entire family joined the church. It was a wonderful day when the daughter professed her faith in Jesus and planned to be baptized. I remember the day of her baptism, I baptized her and her new stepfather the same day. When she was baptized, I said the things I normally say. I talked about Salt and Light from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, she made promises, renouncing sin and evil and promising to serve Christ in the world. She professed her faith, confessing that “Jesus is Lord,” the earliest of Christian confessions. I also talked to her about a new name. I told her that as she had given her life to Christ, as she passed through the waters of baptism she then had a new name, and that new name is “Christian.”

I frequently say this to those I baptize, and I didn’t think much about it that day. I didn’t think she had even heard me. Later that week I realized that she did in fact hear that she had a new name. On her social media accounts, she had changed her name, temporarily, to Hannah (not her real name) Christian. She then went on to tell her friends on social media that “today I was given a new name, I was given the name Christian.” I was amazed at her boldness.

Even though many of us have already voted, tomorrow is election day. The signs have been up for what seems like years, the ads have rolled thousands of times on our TVs. The candidates have given speeches and made promises and criticized and stretched the truth (lied?) and done all they can do to win tomorrow’s election. And it is unlike any election season most of us have ever seen.

Things are uncertain, and even downright frightening.

But tomorrow as the Democrats and the Republicans have it out, remember, you have a different name. And it is not Republican or Democrat. Your name is Christian, it was given to you when you professed Christ and passed through the waters of Baptism. And regardless of what happens tomorrow, your allegiance will still belong to the one who gave you His name in the watery womb of baptism.

There are many “Caesars” who call for our loyalty, many “Nebuchadnezzar’s” who build “golden statues” and call for us to bow down when the music plays. But we owe our allegiance to none other than Christ, and because of what happened at Easter, Christ has won the day. When Hannah (and all Christians) profess faith saying “Jesus is Lord,” it means that all others, whether they have won an election or not, are not.

John Upton, Executive Director of the BGAV, shared with pastors last week that he has repeatedly heard over the past months that the Corona Virus has changed everything. No, Upton told us, Easter has changed everything. Jesus has changed everything.

Even your name.