Who Christians are (not)

Christians - By Maya Angelou

When I say... 'I am a Christian'
I'm not shouting 'I'm clean living.'
I'm whispering 'I was lost,
Now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say... 'I am a Christian'
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need Christ 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 need His strength to carry on.

When I say... 'I am a Christian'
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.

When I say... 'I am a Christian'
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... 'I am a Christian'
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say... 'I am a Christian'
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace, somehow!

I actually had the priveledge of hearing Maya Angelou speak at a conference about a year ago. The way she read her work was very inspirational! Her works contain many Christian truths and so I wondered if she was a Christian. Today, a friend emailed me this great poem. So it seems that if the pronoun in the poem refers to herself then she is indeed a Christian. I love the juxtaposition this poem offers about who Christians are and who they are not. Shamefully, Christians have in part created a bad name for ourselves and for the God we serve. Hopefully, we can all remember who we really are in light of who HE is and be a humble, truthful, loving witness to all those around us and glorify His name together. (John 17:22-23)