In today’s reading,
Jesus says,
“Whoever publicly acknowledges me
before others,
the Son of Man
will also acknowledge
before the angels of God.”

My mind is instantly taken back
to about eight years ago
when I met a group of students
for the first time.
Each student was asked
to tell the class
something about themselves.

When it was his turn,
Andy* stood up and said,
“Hi, I’m Andy*
and I’m a Christian!”
Andy* then grinned round
at the class
before taking his seat again.

I was gob-smacked.

I felt a deep sense of respect
and a touch of awe
for this young man who felt
that what most defined him
was his Christianity –
and who had no qualms
about sharing this
with the rest of the class.
(No ducking-out there!)

Help me, Lord,
not to be a closet-Christian
but to have some of that same courage
as I go about my daily life
so that I, too,
may declare “I’m a Christian!”
with some of the same confidence
that Andy* did.

© Claire Murray, 26th September 2022

(Luke 12: 1-8)