1 Peter 3:15
Honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life.
Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
A
friend and I were talking about a situation that is dear to both of us,
and she said, “I guess I need to practice my response to people about
this, because I don’t have as good of an answer handy as you seem to
have. I need to be able to talk to people about this with more
confidence.” Let’s be honest, if we are speaking to someone about an
issue, and we stumble over our words and don’t seem to have a full grasp
of things, we probably won’t be very convincing!
This passage
reminds us that it’s not enough to “walk the walk, and talk the talk.”
We have to demonstrate our faith by our actions…but we also have to have
answers that make sense. Does this mean that all Christians must be
Bible scholars and know scriptures by heart that can be recited at a
moment’s notice? Absolutely not! But you have to be able to tell
people WHY you are so sure that God is in control. We must be ready to
explain how God has answered prayers in our own lives. We need to be
confident in our justifications of our hope in Jesus.
There is
nothing wrong with suggesting that you look up scripture passages
together…or in saying, “I don’t know…but I’ll find out!” But ask
yourself this…wouldn’t you “do your homework” before trying to explain
things to someone else...everything from how to prepare a certain recipe
to how to repair something to what “home remedies” work best for you?
This is no different. We Christians are called to “get our ducks in a
row” and speak confidently from the heart about our hope and faith in
Jesus. We don’t need to second guess ourselves or fear that we will say
the wrong thing – we need to be so “practiced” that we’re sure our
words make sense.
The best way to accomplish this is to actually practice…to
find opportunities to share with others what Jesus is doing in your
life. If you are not comfortable yet having these conversations with
others, write down your thoughts and study them. Have an idea in your
head of what you would say to someone if he/she asked you about your
faith. Know how you would respond when given an opportunity to share
what Jesus has done for you. Then take advantages of chances to share
your hope with others. The more you do this, the easier it will become.
There
is nothing wrong with spontaneous, heart-felt witness...and when you
ask God to give you the right words, He will surely do so. But it
doesn’t hurt to practice a few responses, so that you feel more
confident when you do speak on Jesus’ behalf. Spend some time in
prayerful preparation…and get so comfortable with expressing your hope
and faith that it becomes second nature. You will honor God…and you
will represent Him well. And isn’t that what being a Christian disciple
is all about?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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