The Wednesday Word 2.23.2022

 


1 Peter 3:13-18 New Living Translation

13 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. 15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. 17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong! 18 Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.

One of the biggest myths surrounding “evangelism,” or sharing the good news, is that you have to be a biblical scholar in order to talk about the love of God. We are afraid we won’t be able to explain or that we will explain it badly and turn someone off. Lots of things are simply a mystery to us and that is even harder to describe to people who do not believe. Virgin birth? Triune God? The reality is, the vast majority of us not trained theologians. And that is okay. We are, however, human beings. While I may not be able to accurately recreate a scriptural timeline or answer questions that have been debated for centuries, I can authoritatively speak about my own experience. I can talk about the changes in my day-to-day life. These were changes in attitude, in outlook, in the way I respond to all the very mixed up and negative behavior around me. I can try to describe how inadequacy was turned to acceptance. I can talk about how feelings of guilt and failure were washed away. I can talk about life that is richer, sweeter, happier than it ever was before. I can try to reflect the love that God has shown me. That is what we are asked to do…something to pray about.

Don’t forget to look for the Lord today. Vicki H.


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