X and XL

X

In Greek, “Christ,” which means “Messiah,” is rendered “Χριστός” (pronounced KRISS-toss) – the first letter being the Greek letter “chi” (pronounced KYE, like eye). Thus the single letter “X” is an abbreviation of the word “Christ.” And thus “Xmas” is an abbreviation of “Christmas” – not a means of removing Christ from Christmas. There’s nothing sacrilegious about using X in referring to Christ. On the contrary, in times of persecution, the early Christians used X as a way to secretly communicate to one another about Him.

Using the letter X for Christ is also a visual reminder of the cross He allowed Himself to be nailed to and hung from for our sake. (For this reason, I especially like to see it rendered as X (that is, appearing in red ink like the red letters of Jesus’ words in a Bible) – to remind us of His blood being shed for us that sealed the new covenant.) And while it’s a sign of the importance of a person to be known by just one name (such as “Elvis” or “Beyonce”) how much more to be known the world over by just one letter!

That the entire message of God to humanity contained in the Bible can be encapsulated in one person referred to by one letter is just one more sign of the majesty of our Creator-Redeemer. X marks the spot of attention for all human beings for all time!

XL

If we add an “L” to the “X,” we have formed a useful acronym to accompany X: that is, XL. Pronounce it like the single word “excel” – the “X” standing for “Christ,” and the “L” standing for “love.”

Love is who Christ is…and what He does. Love is what He commands us to receive from Him, and it is what He commands us to do in this life. First and foremost, we are to love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). And, second, we are to love each other…for the same reason (1 John 4:11). In fact, Jesus made clear that the commandments to love Him and each other go together (Matt 22:34-40; 1 John 4:21).

Excelling at loving in His name is our calling in life. To say XL, therefore, is to effectively distill all that the Bible has to say into two letters. And it’s a reminder of the succinct exhortation Paul twice gave in his first letter to the first believers in Thessalonica (1 Thess 4:1, 10): “Excel still more!”

Even though this abbreviated directive is short, be sure to remember it in its entirety: XL! If you leave off the “L,” you’ll have “faith without works” (Jas 2:14-26). That’s not good. And if you leave off the “X,” you’ll have “dead works” (Heb 6:1; 9:14). That’s not good either. Therefore, remember both and “XL still more!”

The next time you’re doodling, you’ll have two profoundly important abbreviations to write: X and XL. You can spend a lifetime profitably plumbing the depths of both.