In my Examen (Pretty cool Devotional Site!) today I read an old familiar verse. I have read this passage of Scripture countless times but I noticed a little more today. Don't you love how the Word of God is so alive that it brings fresh hope every time you read it! God is so good He is constantly amazing me!
The verse that I am referring to is 1 Peter 3:15 which says "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." (New International Version). Now this verse is pretty simple, right? We as Christians should always be ready to tell people about Jesus. He is our Hope, our Rock, our Salvation, our Everything. We are living in a lost world that is desperate for us to shine His light and tell them how amazing He is.
What does this look like? Does this mean that we have to stand on every street corner and scream the name of Jesus? Well occasionally maybe but no, this is not what this means at all. God is telling us that as we go about our day, we need to be ready to talk about Him at any moment. For example, maybe you are at the grocery store and you notice a woman crying. Go to her and pray with her; tell her that Jesus loves her. There may be an old lady that cannot pay for the milk she is trying to buy. Hand the cashier the money and tell her that God loves her. These could be simple things that gives an answer to the hope that lies within you. It could be simple things, or much more complicated. In any instance, be ready and be His light.
However, as I eluded to in the title of this blog post, there is more. It is funny to me that people can sometimes rattle off a verse from the Bible but not be able to tell you what it says before or after (myself included!). As always, God does not give us a command and leave us wondering how to follow through with the order. In 1 Peter 3:15b-16 God tells us, "But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." (New International Version).
I honestly believe that if more Christians would live the rest of the passage of Scripture out we would have a lot less problems in the world; especially current day America! We can't just yell "Turn or burn!!" It is just as important to show love and explain why the need for Jesus as it is to tell about Jesus. That is what the rest of this verse is saying. Speaking about God in love and respect not only tells people about Jesus, it also shows them. If we as Christians would follow this command properly, there would be a lot less people saying "I'll never go back to that church again, they are such hypocrites!" The lost world instead would see that we have a hope for a reason. That Jesus really is loving, merciful and kind. Imagine with me for a moment, how truly wonderful things would be if we showed Christ's love with our words and our actions. It is a beautiful image.
Which leads me to the final part of this verse. We are to do this so that we will have a clear conscience and anyone who speaks bad of us will have no real offense to speak of. They will be ashamed of their slandering ways because no fruit can come of it. Instead of the world making fools of the church, the ones who choose to slander will be made to look like fools. In essence, the good guys win out in the end! Nothing is better than that.
So you can see that in these two short verses God has provided for us a command, instructions on how to follow through as well as the reasoning for doing so. God does not leave us hanging. He always provides for his children. I love that so much and it gives me such comfort.
I probably should confess, in writing this I am not trying to point fingers at anyone; unless possibly myself. I am speaking to myself as much as anyone else. This is just what I have taken from my time with God today and thought I would share with anyone who might be interested. I hope you have been blessed by reading this. please feel free to comment or share. I love to start conversations and discuss these things. Have a wonderful day, my friends :)
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