When I Say, "I Am A Christian"

When I say, "I am a Christian,"

I'm not shouting "I am saved."

I'm whispering "I was lost";

That is why I chose this way.

When I say, "I am a Christian,"

I don't speak of this with pride.

I'm confessing that I stumble,

And need someone to be my guide.

When I say, "I am a Christian,"

I'm not trying to be strong.

I'm professing that I'm weak,

And pray for strength to carry on.

When I say, "I am a Christian,"

I'm not bragging of success.

I'm admitting I have failed,

And cannot ever pay the debt.

When I say, "I am a Christian,"

I'm not claiming to be perfect.

My flaws are too visible,

But God believes I'm worth it.

When I say, "I am a Christian,"

I still feel the sting of pain.

I have my share of heartaches,

Which is why I speak His name.

When I say, "I am a Christian,"

I do not wish to judge.

I have no authority;

I only know I'm loved.

[ Copyright 1989, Carol S. Wimmer -- from Trudy Fuller.]

When I started this Lenten blog yesterday, I did not have a clear idea of where I would get my spiritual reading from each day, I had decided to be open to the Spirit, as befits my Quaker upbringing. After all, yesterday's readings also show Jesus as having said:

 

"The wind blows where it wills, and you hear its sound but you cannot tell where it has come from or where it is going; so it is with everyone that is born of the Spirit."

 

And today, doing my usual trawl through Facebook I found the poem above, posted by

 

https://www.facebook.com/stchristopherscommunitychurch.

 

And it answers many, though not all, of the issues that I get asked about when I say I am a Christian - or worse still, a priest! Being a Christian has such a bad press nowadays that many people keep their light under a bushel. Because if you say you are a Christian (or even worse a priest!) people make so many assumptions about you... In so many cases they align you with the Bible-belt of the USA and assume that you will be creationist, homophobic, take the Bible literally and have certain beliefs about issues such as abortion, contraception, euthanasia, etc etc. And if you say you are catholic, they add on anti-women, child abuse by priests and the Pope for good measure!

 

And yet, the christian community is a whole rainbow (excuse the rainbow reference there, I can't help myself!) of people, holding all kinds of views on all these issues.  When I was doing my A Levels in 1982 I had to change from a paper on Buddhism to one of John's Gospel due to a change in school and I probably held all the above prejudices... I was so surprised to learn about biblical criticism in my lessons and amazed at the outcry caused by Bishop David Jenkins - after all these were the things we had learnt in class!

 

I was brought up not only as a Quaker, but as a universalist one, as my dad, in particular, saw himself as an ex-Christian. We were taught that all religions were roads up a mountain towards God, as it were, with Christianity no better than any other... In fact, my dad's experiences had led to attitudes that meant that he would probably have been happier if I'd become a Hindu or a Sikh than a Christian! Imagine his shock when I joined the Roman Catholic church in 1986.

 

So, this poem, for me, reminds me of why I personally, made the decision in May 1985, to walk forward at a Billy Graham meeting at Roker Park in Sunderland (yes a catholic priest who was a BG convert!) and say yes to Jesus! As the years have gone by many of my thoughts on issues mentioned above have changed - I like to think I have matured! - but the fundamental reason I am a Christian is because of a personal relationship of love between myself and God, as shown in the life of Jesus as we have it recorded...

 

We could discuss doctrines of atonement, transubstantiation etc etc but to me, all those are less important than love!

 

Stay blessed!