Am I Prepared to Give an Answer?

1 Peter 3:15 famously instructs believers to be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks us for the hope we have in Christ. Christians tend to see this in terms of serious or hostile challenge, heavy duty apologetics. And that certainly is part of what Peter meant. But for most Christians, difficult challenges are rare, and a small part of Peter's meaning (small in proportion, not significance).

The more frequent application of this verse will/should be ordinary people asking why we are nice, honest, kind, serving. Hopefully our lives are such as would prompt such questions! It's such a "simple" question, but have we given it any thought? I've been asking myself that question. I've read all kinds of books about Creation vs. Evolution, abortion, and certain religious groups, but I honestly haven't given the thought I should to answering a merely curious, "What is right with you?" question.

Creatures "Owning" Something Created?

Can a human, a creature, really own some other created thing? I don't mean in the sense of human governments and laws. I mean an intrinsic, durable ownership. The stuff we usually think we own can rot, can be taken from us, can be made obsolete, can be spoiled, ruined or destroyed. Or we might die, and our stuff continues on in space and time. Further, how can we be sure we are not the ones who are, in fact, owned by "our" stuff? In all these exigencies, what happened to our being the ones who own things? To truly own something, mustn't the owner be something qualitatively greater, something that transcends, that which is owned? We humans are made of the same stuff, subject to the same physical laws, as the things we like to think we own. What human being, then, really owns anything?

There is One, of course, Who is greater than us and the things around us, Who made us and all things. He is the One Who can truly own ... without being owned ... neither spoiling nor spoiled.

Paradoxes in Christ

Salvation ...there is nothing I can do to earn or keep salvation, yet God will not force salvation, saving faith, on me. Am I somehow "allowing" God to create that saving faith in me? Is doing vs. allowing a distinction without a difference? I could throw my hands up in frustration. Instead, I believe ... God "understands" how He works it all out.

Obedience ... I am flawed. I am told to obey God, I am responsible for what I do, but in truth, nothing I can do is truly good. Again, I could give up, but I choose to obey and will let God make good my imperfect.

Serving ... God has given me intelligence and abilities, and I am responsible to use them in serving Him. My abilities, my motivations are flawed, marred by sin. Nor are they adequate to the task of serving God. Still, I will serve, trusting God for power and the results of my service.