"The Reason for the Hope that You Have"

Have you ever had someone come up to you and ask, “What is the reason for the hope that you have?” or something similar, such as, “What is the reason for your joy (or patience, or compassion, or love)?” 1 Peter 3:15 is one of the passages we hear quoted and preached about a lot, but seldom, if ever, have I heard anyone give careful attention to the context in which it is found (both the chapter and the book).

The context is the apostle Peter's teaching on how Christians need to live in terms of suffering and submission. If, in the midst of being “owned” by another human being (whether slave master or husband, as was the case for many Christians in the first century), a Christian demonstrates an attitude of gratitude, joy, faithfulness and hope and continues to submit to those “over” him/her and, at the same time, is known for his/her good works for others, it’s not hard to see that such a life would generate some questions.

We’ve often focused on the “be prepared” part - know your Bible; be theologically and academically able to answer the sincere questions of honest truth seekers; but if we don’t have a life in the midst of injustice and pain that is radically different than how people usually respond to oppression and suffering, then “ain’t nobody gonna ask us no questions about our faith”! Effective evangelism is, first and foremost, not about knowing the answers or even about boldness is sharing what we know. Effective evangelism is about truly living a life in which we demonstrate by our attitudes and actions that something is genuinely and authentically different about us from within. And what is it that makes our lives radically different? We have “set apart Christ Jesus as Lord” in our hearts! When you and I truly live each day with Jesus as our Lord, our lives will indeed stand out enough (especially in times of trials and challenges) that people around us will ask, “What is the reason for the hope that you have?”

I think we are heading into a time in our world, brought on by globalization, that will really allow us as Christians to shine. All there is out there is bad news and threats of bad news. People live every day with anxiety, fear and even true dread about what is going on or what might happen. Because their trust is in the things of this world, they fear losing all that they have worked for either through some global economic meltdown, or by means of some terrorist attack. What an opportunity for Christians to show how different we are because of our faith in God and obedience to Jesus. If we can, in the midst of all these threats and setbacks (real or anticipated), truly live by faith day by day, we will absolutely stand out and we will have incredible opportunities to tell our family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers, acquaintances and even strangers about "the reason for the hope that we have" and with God's help, lead many to faith in Jesus.

No one likes tough times, but for us as Christians, tough times bring out the worst in the world and the best in Christians and allows our lights to shine that much brighter and thus the difference that faith becomes more obvious to all. Are you prepared, via your faithful lifestyle in the midst of personal and/or global challenges, to give everyone an answer about the hope that you have?