“but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,
always being prepared to make a defense to anyone
who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you;
yet do it with gentleness and respect,”
I Peter 3:15
When someone you know asks you why you believe what you do or why you follow Christ, what response do you feel inside yourself? Is it fear of not being able to answer the question? Is it fear that you might make a fool of yourself? Is it fear that you might lose a friendship over your answer? Is it fear that your answer just won’t be good enough? We may have lots of swirling feelings when we read the command to “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you.” And, yet, the command isn’t just to those who have the gift of evangelism, have been to Bible college, took Navigators training, etc. in preparation, the command is to all of us. Please remember that when Peter wrote this, there was no New Testament to study. The apostle Peter was encouraging them and us to just tell our story of what God has done in our lives. It does not have to be a long story, but your own story can have an impact.
Years ago in the 1970’s, there was an atheist activist named Madalyn Murray O’Hair who filed a lawsuit that eventually led to the Supreme Court deciding that the reading of the Bible in public schools was unconstitutional. This decision ultimately removed public prayer as well. She was an activist atheist and spent much of her time promoting her beliefs and attacking Christianity. In one radio interview, she was poised against a Christian pastor. She spoke first and at some length mocking what Christians believe. The radio host then turned to the pastor and asked for his response. Then this humble pastor just told his story of what Christ had done in his life. He did not give Bible verses, quote famous people, and so on, he just told her why he had the hope of heaven and peace here on earth. O’Hair did not have a way to answer what the pastor shared about his own experience with the LORD. Can we just do that, tell our stories?
But what if they don’t believe me or I sound foolish or it makes no sense to them? This reminds me of years later when Elizabeth Elliot spoke on a Sunday evening in our church. Her missionary husband Jim was murdered by Waorani tribesmen in Ecuador in 1956. Two years later she went to live with that tribe to tell them the gospel. This well educated brilliant woman living in an extremely primitive tribe described herself as a fool. She knew nothing about how to live in the jungle, not how to gather food, not how to hunt, not how to speak the language; the tribespeople would laugh at her. When she spoke to us that night, I will never forget her question, “Are you willing to be a fool for God?” You see, the outcome is up to God; we are just to do what He asks. The Waorani tribe responded to the gospel and there is much more to the story. Please read Through Gates of Splendor written by her if you want to know more.
Are you prepared to ‘tell your story?’ Practice it throughout your day with family members or just by yourself so you will be prepared to answer when someone asks you “Why do you believe that?” God probably has someone wanting to hear your story!
Francie Overstreet
EFCC Member