Truth vs. Labels

You must choose (in this exercise) to be either one of the following:

1. An acknowledged Christian.  Everyone knows this is what you proclaim.  This is also not the reality.  In your inmost places, your true motives, and the actions that result from them, you seek as much distance from this man Jesus and his way as possible.

2.  An acknowledged "heathen".  Everyone knows this is what you proclaim.  You have heard the stories, but something has kept you from embracing that label.  However, In your inmost places, your true motives, and the actions that result from them, you are an authentic follower of the way of Jesus -- you just never have attached his name to it.  Perhaps you never understood what the label was really supposed to represent.  Perhaps those that bore the label seemed more the opposite.  Either way, you act like Jesus would act if he were in your situation, you just don't act much like a Christian - at least not the Christians you know.


Would you hesistate even a moment going with door number two?  Probably not.  Regardless of your current religious inclinations as you read this, the man Jesus carries quite a remarkable reputation.

I'd like to suggest that we give people more credit for the loving and selfless things they do, and that we intentionally become blind to religious labels when attempting to understand who has something to teach us and what they have to teach.  There is a lot to learn.