The God Who Speaks - November 2007

"But in your hearts set apart 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

About a week ago, Andy asked me to share with him the reason for the hope I have within me.

He was obviously pondering the above verse. I became familiar with Peter's exhortation in the context of Christian apologetics (apologetics is the task of defending a particular idea or belief system and answering its critics). I thought Peter's "giving a reason" meant having good arguments for the existence of God. But ironically, it was an apologetics prof (Glenn Runnalls) who challenged me. He said, "Brad, be a witness, not a lawyer." A witness is someone who testifies to what they've seen and heard. This reminds me of 1 John 1 (in the Message):

1-2From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we're telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.

3-4We saw it, we heard it, and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!

The hope that you have in you will probably relate, not to philosophical arguments or even biblical proof, but to stories of what you've seen and heard with your own eyes and ears -- stories of redemption and transformation and answered prayer. Could I suggest that you take significant time this month to ask God the following:

"Lord, would you remind me of what I've seen and heard? Would you please show me where my hope comes from?" Then watch and wait for your own testimonies to surface. What I'm hoping is that you'll be filled anew with HOPE that is noticeable ... hope that leads others to ask you where it comes from. Then be prepared to share it, just as Peter says.

Blessings,

Brad Jersak