Do I Have To?
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15)
Read 1 Peter 3:15 a few times, and you will break out in a cold sweat. The writer is asking a lot from you and me. “Always be prepared!” What does God expect us to be spiritual Boy Scouts? Worse, God expects us to prepare to defend our faith at any given moment. At first thought, it might not sound too challenging until you try to describe why you believe. Take the next two minutes and state why you believe in our Triune God as if you were telling someone who wants to know why you believe in God.
Now, how did you do? I am a pastor and still struggle to provide my “reason for hope.” Did you jump right into a rational, theological argument? Perhaps you started telling a story about when you felt God’s presence in a moment of need. Either way, you can hear the critical voices slamming against your brain. We’ve listened to people tear apart every theological argument with their “superior intellect.” It takes even more courage to open yourself up about your faith experiences, knowing many will inwardly roll their eyes and think you are creating a fictional scenario to help you overcome your emotional weaknesses.
It takes wisdom and courage to share your “hope…with gentleness and respect.” It requires reflection to articulate what you feel in your heart. Determining your intellectual understanding of our Biblical and theological knowledge takes study. Wait, you aren’t done fulfilling 1 Peter 3:15 yet. It isn’t until you do the challenging work of joining your intellectual and emotional concepts of the divine that you will find wisdom. Doing the hard work is worth the effort. You will reaffirm your faith at a deeper level and be able to share your spirituality with those you love humbly. Then, they, too will find the “hope” from which 1 Peter speaks.