Speak the name of Jesus softly... let your whisper deny him

Here are some things I know:


*Jesus knew how to love people and He did love people.
*Jesus said some stuff that is extremely hard to live.
*Jesus offended a lot of people with His actions and His words. In fact, He offended them so much that they killed Him.

*Jesus hung out with a lot of imperfect people. sinners, outcasts, rebels, the common, poor, hurting, people who sore our eyes, weirdos.

*Jesus didn't have a place to lay His head. At least not a permanent one.
*The people who were 'supposed' to know God, and supposed to know Him.....didn't.
*Jesus called people whitewashed tombs. He said the most loving thing possible to people, even if it required saying something not so nice to them.

*Jesus had no fear of man.

Some would say it's better if I don't attach myself to the label of 'Christian' because of some of the connotations it has now. But if they ask me who I am, how then do I explain it? If they want to know why I care about people, what will my answer be? If they are astonished by the way I view the world, what do I reply?
How do I remove something from an answer that is so entangled with who I am that in doing so I would lose myself?

I understand that the name of Jesus has been abused, has been used to justify things lightly, even to deceive........
But how dare we try to hide who He actually is because we are scared of people's reactions. And how dare we try to be deceptive salesmen- in the sense that we want people to help, but we need to be tactful in how we use Jesus' name so others aren't offended and will still want to help or be involved in whatever it is we are trying to do.
I also don't think we need to shove Jesus down people's throats until they choke on Him.

But in saying that, I refuse to hide my reason for doing this, I refuse to hide why I am who I am:

I am a Christian.
I am a follower of Jesus the Christ.
And He has changed everything I am, He has wrecked it all and continues to do so, makes new things and beauty where there was none previously.
I have never been happier to have my life wrecked.

That is what this is about. It's not my attempt to make justice fashionable, or to convince people to be 'good'. This isn't my plea to get people to help.
This is who I am. This is why my tears fall, this is why things shatter my world, this is the only reason why things matter, and why my heart rips and bleeds and compels me to say something, to do something, to live something.

Everything I have and am is found and made into reality only by knowing Jesus.

And if that sounds cheesy or offensive..... well, maybe it is, but it is also true.