why christianity?

"Why Christianity?" 

A woman at the coffee shop asked me this the other day.  I was working with the scriptures, trying to craft a sermon, and out of no where came that question, "Why Christianity?"

I stumbled.  I hemmed.  I hawed.  I wasn't elegant in the least...

And so, my friend, here is the answer I meant to give.  Here's what I meant to say over my tea, but didn't.   

"For me, Christianity is a poem.  A beautiful and broken poem that soars to the highest heavens, but not before it slugs through the trenches of violence, shadows, betrayal, abandonment, and finally, death.

For me, life wouldn't make sense without Christianity.  Without Christianity, without a God who chooses to become flesh, to become breakable; without a God who, through Christ and the church, continues to side with the poor; without a God who stands in solidarity with every victim of every hate crime; without a God who transforms, redeems, and declares in the face of death, “You will not have the final word!" - without this God, I couldn’t make it through the day, I couldn't read the paper, I couldn't bring children into the world.

I choose Christianity because, for me, the world would be a veil of tears without it.  For me, this beautiful, broken poem contains life and life in abundance."

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Tell us, what does Christianity mean to you?

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Thanks to Karen Eliot for this inquisitive shot!