“Sanctify Christ as Lord in your
hearts. Always be ready to give an
explanation to anyone who asks for a reason for your hope; but do it with
gentleness and reverence.
I Peter 3:15-17
There are many
voices in this world today telling others what to do, especially in the area of
religion. Unfortunately many of those
voices are condemning, judgmental, mean spirited, nasty, and pushy. I don’t respond to
Those kinds of
voices no matter how much of what they are saying is true. I don’t see that example being set by Jesus
so why do I see it and hear it coming from people who claim to follow him? God’s love brings forth repentance, not
pushiness and hatred.
Jesus spoke out of
who he was; that’s what gave him the authority to speak. It wasn’t that he “knew it all”; he “was it
all”. Before I can speak God’s words I
must BE His words. God is love, so it
figures that God’s words that I speak would be filled with gentleness and reverence. Anything else is unacceptable. Jesus didn’t back down from the truth when he
spoke; but his Truth was filled with love, gentleness, and reverence. People who needed to hear what he had to say
listened to him because of how he said what he said; even if it was a word of
correction and conviction. Transformation occurred because of his words
and that is what God desires in the hearts of all people.
I am called to BE
light and salt. Then I have the
authority to answer when I am asked about the hope that lives within me. When I answer in gentleness and reverence, I will
be heard.
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