A Thought For The Week Of January 28

"But in your hearts revere 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) On Sunday, instead of preaching, we had a Question & Answer session in church. I took 5 random questions from the congregation and offered 5 totally unprepared answers. The questions were on 5 totally different subjects. This was the verse that came into my mind as I thought about what I was planning to do. Sometimes it's good for us to be caught off guard by the questions and comments of others, because it's in responding to others that we're forced to confront our own questions, and to refine what it is that our own faith is about. Sometimes we take things very much for granted. We don't allow ourselves to be pushed out of our comfort zones, and we certainly don't talk much about our faith. That - we've convinced ourselves - is a private matter best kept to ourselves. To talk about our faith is disrespectful to those who might disagree with us. That's what we say anyway. But I suspect that for many the real reason is that we just don't want to have to face the awkward questions that people can sometimes ask. But the Bible tells us to be prepared - to know what we believe and to be able to express it, not arrogantly, but gently and respectfully. Some of our congregation asked for more services like that one. And maybe it's a good exercise for the minister to go through. But it's not only ministers who have to be on their toes about matters of faith; it's all of us who claim Christ as our light, our Lord, our Saviour, our God. Always be prepared. Have a great week!