The Apostle Peter in his first letter writes,
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.
1 Peter 3:15
Peter makes some important and true assumptions here that are worth holding up to our own lives. Most importantly that we have something special within us as Christians. We have hope.
This hope is the indwelling life of God poured into our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit. This hope makes all the difference, though we eat and sleep and work and play as all do, we do these carrying a precious and sure hope within us. We do these things differently, even to the point of suffering differently and dying differently. All this because we carry the hope of eternity with Jesus Christ inside ourselves.
Another assumption Peter makes is that this different way of being, this hope, will cause people to ask questions. It will cause people to ask: “why is this one different?”
We need to be ready to answer when asked. Our time is limited, and it may be the last time someone asks about hope. How can they know of the hope if no one tells them? How can you be better ready today to share with love the hope you have?
This reflection is excerpted from Kairos Prayer by Day app.
Top photo credit: image of hand on heart and open bible, from Bigstock.com, © by digitalskillet1, stock photo ID: 171156872. Scripture passage added. Used with permission.
Brian Laba is a lifelong member of the Servants of the Word, an international, ecumenical brotherhood of men living single for the Lord. He lives with the Servants of the Word brothers in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA and works as a mental health counselor at Crossroads Counseling where his specialty is with university students.