I found this poem in a book I've been reading, The Unexpected Adventure. The poem is written by a woman called Maggie whose only contact with Christianity had been with hypocrites during her childhood. Later in life she went along to a Christianity vs. atheism debate hoping to hear Christianity publicly disproved but instead was intrigued by the persuasive arguments offered by the Christian debater. Cautiously, she decided to look into Christianity through written letters to the pastor of the church hosting the debate, one of the book's authors. Soon afterwards she joined a small group where she could investigate more and more for herself with the help of the Christian leaders, and consequently wrote this poem to the pastor.
Do you know,
Do you understand,
That you represent
Jesus to me?
Do you know,
Do you understand,
That when you treat me with gentleness,
It raises the question in my mind
That maybe He is gentle too.
Maybe He isn't someone
Who laughs when I am hurt.
Do you know,
Do you understand,
That when you listen to my questions
And you don't laugh,
I think, "What if Jesus is interested in me, too?"
Do you know,
Do you understand,
That when I hear you talk about arguments,
And conflicts and scars from your past,
I think, "Maybe I am just a regular person
Instead of a bad, no-good little girl
Who deserves abuse."
If you care,
I think maybe He cares --
And then there's this flame of hope
That burns inside of me,
And for a while I am afraid to breathe
Because it might go out.
Do you know,
Do you understand,
That your words are His words,
Your face is His face,
To someone like me?
Please, be who you say you are.
Please, God, don't let this be another trick.
Please, let this be real.
Please!
Do you know,
Do you understand,
That you represent
Jesus to me?
What a reminder that if we identify ourselves with Christ we are His ambassadors on earth. How amazing, how humbling, how mind-blowing that God is able to work through poor, sinful humans such as you and me for His glory when we walk with Him.
