A Moment on the Lips // Why’s It So Hard To Say “Jesus”?
“Oh… erm… err… the Gospel you say?”
THEM: “What exactly do you do at that church holiday club then Rhys?”
Oh wow. You don’t know what you’ve just let yourself in for. You’ve just unleashed Rhys “Billy Graham” Laverty. Time to get my evangelizzle on. Prepare to get spiritually knocked for six, my friend. The Kingdom of Heaven is coming your way”
ME: “Oh well… er… we do play games, sing songs and teach the kids about Je… er, the Bible”
Wait, why did I stumble there? Why didn’t I say “teach them about Jesus”?
Then I realise: saying Jesus’ name is hard!
That’s a real life conversation I’ve had with my loved ones multiple times. It’s a cosmic relief when a chance to talk about faith with those close to you comes up. And sometimes it seems like it’s going really well.
Then you drop a J-Bomb.
You sense your street cred plummet through the floor. Suddenly, the weather becomes a hot topic. People can deal with views and opinions, but as soon as Jesus rocks up, party’s over. He just makes things plain awkward.
And so, when we get the chance to talk about our faith, we can chat a lot about Christianity but very little about Christ. We get embarrassed by the thirty-three year old Jewish carpenter who dwells inside us – the one who made the universe, died for our sins, rose from the dead and is coming back one day to judge the world.
Early on in the book of Acts, Peter and John find themselves in a similar situation. They’ve just healed a lame beggar at the temple gate and it’s caused a stir. They’re brought before the religious authorities and asked “By what power or what name did you do this?”
Now, if I were Peter, I know I’d be pretty tempted to avoid the J-Word. It feels awkward for us saying we believe in Jesus, and we might think “oh, it was easier for Christians back then”. But Peter’s addressing the men who had Jesus killed! They’d seen him in the flesh. Imagine telling people that, rather than worshiping the well known Son of God, you worship a controversial celebrity who everyone saw die a few months ago. But the Holy Spirit gives Peter the power to cut to the chase:
“…know this, you and all the people of Israel: it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone”. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:10-12)
Christians doesn’t proclaim a philosophy, but a person. We don’t offer information on religion, but invitations into relationship. Bring Jesus into the conversation and, by his grace, he will start to reveal himself. Not every faith-based conversation you have needs to be a full 2 Ways To Live presentation. Most people come to faith by being loved by Christians and talking things through bit by bit, gradually piecing Jesus together. But when the chance arrives to really get to the heart of the Christian faith, let Jesus’ name come swiftly to your lips. It’s a name of unrivaled power and beauty, and, as Peter said, the only name that saves.
An Unshakable Kingdom 