This morning I read I Peter 3:15 which says, “…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.”
It seems like God gave me a “practical application” this afternoon as I got a trim.
The hairdresser and I had a polite conversation about plans for Christmas and the weather, then she asked me what I did, and I told her about the Center for Global Action at Adventures in Missions. I explained what the World Race was, and she caught me off guard with a question.
“Don’t the people who live in those countries already have a religion? Why would they want to switch to yours?”
Quick-witted as I am, I replied, “…hmm… That’s a good question.” (Crap.)
“Well,” I started again after a pause, “if it was only about religion, then it would be as simple as telling an argument and convincing people with the pros of my religion over their religion, but it is not really about that. It is about knowing God, and Jesus is the only way to have that relationship. Because I believe in Jesus, I’m seen as blameless in the eyes of God, despite all of the mistakes I’ve made, and I can’t just keep that good news to myself.”
“But how do you know that he sees you like that?”
“He’s told me.” (Oh, boy.)
“He talks to you?”
“Yeah, he speaks to me, and what’s even crazier is he speaks to me through other people, too.”
“How do you know it’s not made up?”
“To be honest, sometimes when I listen to God, I think I am making it up, but then once I write it down, I test it, and later it is confirmed in awesome ways. It’s happened too many times for me to doubt that it is God that I’m hearing anymore.”
“That’s interesting. I don’t believe in God, but I like to listen to people who do to get their perspective. I can tell you really believe. Some religious people can just be judgmental, but you don’t seem like you are.”
Yay!
Later I told her one last thing, “If you ever do want to know if there is God, people can tell you all about him, but if you seek him with all your heart, you’ll find him. That’s one of his promises and is my hope that I am certain of.” She thanked me, and that was that.
Overall, was I ready to explain the hope that I have in Christ today? It didn’t feel like I was during the conversation, actually. I don’t have my apologetics down, but I believe God still invited me to share my hope with someone anyway. He is great enough to communicate his truth even through my stammering.
