1 Peter 3:15-16

If someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way.

When Peter wrote his letter, Christianity was still quite new and so I am sure that many people were very curious about it. Peter was keen that his readers shouldn’t miss any opportunity to talk about it. But it had to be done in the right way. If they were aggressive and disrespectful it could put people off for ever. So he urged them to be ready for every opportunity but to ensure that their responses were gentle and respectful.

In our own society so few people attend church that there is, once again, a great curiosity about Christian faith. Most people know that Christianity exists, but haven’t a clue what it’s about, so we all need to be ready to talk about our hope as believers. I know this may sound intimidating, but it shouldn’t. We don’t need to have all the answers, and in fact none of us does. We simply need to be able to explain why Jesus is so important to us, and how he has changed our lives. The detail of how you answer people’s questions is not nearly as important as taking their questions seriously. If you are asked a question then simply be honest and say that you don’t know the answer. People will always find that response far more refreshing and helpful than someone who has got slick responses to every question.

The Alpha Course, which has been run in more than 175 countries and attended by more than 28 million people, encourages people to ask questions. People are shown respect as they ask their questions and are offered teaching that they can reflect on in a warm and friendly atmosphere. Alpha and the many other introductory courses are great, but it is still vital that we are all ready to respond whenever people ask questions about our faith. There is nothing more powerful than sharing your own story.

Question

What could you do to become better equipped to share your faith with others?

Prayer

Loving Father, thank you for the amazing gift of the good news and for the way in which it has transformed my life. Help me to seize every opportunity for sharing my story with others. Amen