Gulf of Texas

Recently President Trump announced plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America.

I lived on the Gulf for 20 years, and during that time I jokingly referred to it as the Gulf of Texas. While sitting on the beach, it just seems like it belongs to me and not Mexico, hence the Gulf of Texas.

This makes me think of 1 Corinthians when Paul criticized the church for being divided. Some said they were of Paul, Apollos, Cephas, etc. He said they should be united instead. Just Christians. They were first called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26).

In 1804 a preacher by the name of Barton W. Stone promoted unity among denominations and to be known as just Christians. He led many Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Shakers, etc. to discard all labels except the name of Christian.

Does President Trump want to rename the Gulf because of American arrogance? If so, I think he would want to rename it the Gulf of the USA. With the Gulf being surrounded by North America, South America, and Latin America, maybe it is an act of unity. Either way, I will refer to it as the Gulf of Texas.

A name can encourage unity.

As for me, if you are to know me by just one name, I would want to be known as just a Christian.

-Jay Crook