OJ

What do you think of when you hear the initials OJ? Many say OJ Simpson whose real name is Orenthal James Simpson. Orenthal James Simpson, nicknamed "the Juice", is an American former football running back, broadcaster, actor, and advertising spokesman. Once a popular figure with the U.S. public, he is now best known for being tried for the murders of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman.

Others may say Orange Julius which basically is a beverage made by blending orange juice and milk, with other ingredients added for flavor. Orange Julius is also a chain of fruit drink beverage stores.

One not-so-common name for this abbreviation is Ona Judge. According to Wikipedia, Ona "Oney" Judge Staines (c. 1773 – February 25, 1848) was a woman of mixed races who was enslaved to the Washington family, first at the family's plantation at Mount Vernon and later, after George Washington became president, at the President's House in Philadelphia, then the nation's capital city. In her early twenties, she absconded, becoming a fugitive slave, after learning that Martha Washington had intended to transfer ownership of her to her granddaughter, known to have a horrible temper. She fled to New Hampshire, where she married, had children, and converted to Christianity. Though she was never freed, the Washington family did not want to risk public backlash in forcing her to return to Virginia and after years of failing to persuade her to return, the family stopped pressing her to go back.

Then there is Othniel the judge; Othniel was the first of the biblical judges. The ruler of Mesopotamia conquered Israel. Othniel lived under the rule of King Cushan for eight years. Finally, God's Spirit stirred Othniel when Israel began to beg for God to free them. Othniel went out to war and defeated the Mesopotamian king and freed Israel. Afterwards, Othniel lived forty years and then he died.(Judges 1:13-3:11)

I love how we use initials to identify things and I love trying to determine what the initials mean especially when the initials become more popular than the words they stand for. I used to hear the letters AD and BC so often and I marveled that we, unconsciously, whether Christian or not, acknowledged Christ every time we wrote a date. The use of BC and AD for numbering calendar years was invented by Dionysius Exiguus in 525 AD. The meaning of AD is Anno Domini or Year of our Lord referring to the year of Christ’s birth. The meaning of BC is Before Christ. Now when you hear the letters OJ, will you think of OJ Simpson or Ona Judge? When you write or hear a date, will you think of the date in relation to Christ?