Always Prepared?

The following post is from guest author Fiona Mackay. Originally from the Isle of Skye, Fiona lives and works as an English tutor in Inverness, Scotland, along with her photographer husband, Roddy, and their three children. Her heart is for sharing her creative enthusiasm in both Shakespeare and local women’s ministry.

“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).

How prepared are we to share what we believe with those around us? Do we have a respectful, gentle answer to explain the hope that we have?

Recently, when chatting with a friend, deep in conversation about the juggle struggle of life with work, health, finances, and family, she sighed and said, “We work to live and live to work - but, at the end of the day, what’s it really all about?” 

I paused, my mind in a state of panic. My friend - someone who, as far as I know, does not share my faith - was asking this profound, soul-searching question about the meaning of life. What hope could I offer her? I found I simply could not get a coherent answer together before the conversation moved on to other topics, another cup of tea, the weather.

It reminded me of a moment in the TV show The West Wing, where fictional White House Press Secretary CJ Cregg celebrates as the Majority Leader is asked ‘The Question’ - why does he want to be President? - and floundered in his response. However, CJ’s glee at the opposition’s lack of preparation is quickly quashed as she discovers that their own side, the Government, does not actually seem to have an answer of its own.

And much like CJ Cregg and the White House team on TV, when faced with ‘The Question,’ I felt like I had flunked it. Here was a genuine opportunity to share what hope I have with someone about whom I care deeply; instead, I watched an opportunity pass me by.

There are many reasons we might struggle to have an answer for these situations. Maybe, like me, we feel embarrassed and inarticulate, scared of offending our loved ones or the risk of changing the atmosphere. Perhaps we have been scalded in the past by hostile responses to our faith. What if we mess up, say the worst possible thing, and put someone off from finding out more about Jesus? 

Our fear of not saying the right words at the right time can actually stem from a misplaced belief that everything depends on us. Throughout the Bible, God has certainly proven he uses weak, stumbling, and altogether quite unimpressive people, just like us: the fearful Gideon, the reluctant Moses, and the disciples who misspoke, stayed quiet, or denied him. 

Paul recognises the power of God as being crucial to the sharing of the gospel, as he writes to the believers with a deep conviction to share the gospel: “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16). We can take great comfort in this. Our powerful and loving God provides both the opportunities and resources we need; he has placed us with a purpose amongst our family, our friends, our neighbours, and work colleagues. 

So how can we prepare for The Question? What is it we believe; what is our hope? Putting it into words may take some effort but it is definitely worth rehearsing. Of course, we’re not robots, so our answer will perhaps look quite different depending on the person with whom we are speaking; gentleness and respect are valuable stances regardless. 

There are some excellent resources we can use to concisely work through the basics of what our faith is all about, from catechisms to creeds. Our local church recently began to recite The Apostles’ Creed as part of our service, and it has been beneficial to consider the core truths of the Christian faith; speaking them aloud as a church body can also help us grow in clarity and confidence. My prayer is that in our daily lives alongside others, we will take hold of any opportunity to communicate, however clumsily, something of the hope we have in Jesus Christ, who has forgiven us, is with us now, and promises eternal life. 

God knows who is asking The Question and what it is they need to hear. We are not told to have a perfectly polished answer, a sermon with three alliterated points, or a winning sound bite. But we can practise putting our hope into words, trusting that God will use even our feeble efforts in his sovereign power.