Encountering

"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

Each time I think God has really done something beautiful, He continues to surprise me. This past week Tony and I have really been asking God to just use us in some way; give us ministry opportunities, give us opportunities to love, to spread the Gospel, and to be the hands and feet of Christ. Lately, we have felt like we've been drained of these opportunities, in expense of our own faults because we've allowed the stresses of school, work, and other things to fill our hearts and time.

Tonight Tony and I finally got a chance to spend some time reading the Word. We ended up driving to Starbucks to sip some joe and read something for an hour or two. As we sat down, a young man instantly began to ask us questions. At first, it seemed as if he had been hurt by Christianity or by Christians in the past, simply by his tone, his expressions, and the depths of the questions he was asking. It seemed like this man had pondered these questions before. Immediately we began pouring into him, answering questions, giving him examples, painting pictures of God's grace. It was overwhelming and incredible all at once. Sitting for nearly two hours talking to a stranger about the Gospel. This was the chance we asked God for. In my mind, I continued to dig deeper into my Spirit to give him hope, give him answers, give him simplicity + relevance. Explaining the Gospel to someone gives me that same rush like the first day of school; a mixing pot of nerves and excitement.

After two hours of discussion with this young man, he asked one last question, "I have one last verse to ask you about. Can you turn to 1 Peter 3:15?" I did so. At this point, Tony ran to the restroom and I was hoping I could answer whatever else he was wondering about. He told me to read it, but when I looked back up at him to hear his question he had pulled out his own bible. Confused, he told me, "I'm a Christian." (I have never seen someone act so well.) I nearly cried because I was laughing and smiling (and a little confused). He said that God had been pushing him lately. He had been craving to see Christians explaining their faith, and he had been wanting to do so himself. As soon as he saw us sit down, he began acting as the devil's advocate asking us questions about our believes, sort of as a test. It's funny because he said he had never done this before, and that God just told him to do it! Tony came back, and we were laughing and cheesing too hard. It's not every day a fellow believer gives you a quiz as a non-believer, nor had this every happened to us before.

Walking away with a new friend, who turns out to be in ministry + seminary school, the Lord set up the perfect opportunity for us to be one step closer to God. The questions this young man asked made even myself search my heart for answers that I hadn't even pondered on lately, such as the extent of God's grace (something I've been needing loads of lately). He pushed us to explain our faith and to explain it well. As a believer this is critical. Of course God does not need our help in spreading the Gospel, but the fact that He chooses us to teach people about Himself is even more of the reason to be firm in our foundation, our theology, our truth, and most importantly our love. How often are we tested to share our faith? How easy is it to live in a city where everyone has heard some form of the redemption story? How simple is it to never have to share the depths of God's love in intimacy with someone, believer or not? It's so easy it's become scary. In our American culture, it's easy as a Christian to go about without having to dig into the details of the Gospel. We give someone a link to website or a blog, rather than pulling out scripture. We email them a podcast, rather than inviting them to church. We give them a book to explain Jesus, rather beginning a relationship with them and pouring into their lives to show them the beauty of Jesus. God revealed a test for Tony and I today; He tested not just our knowledge but our boldness + readiness for the Gospel.

If someone asks, are you ready to answer?