Articles
The Hope That Is In You
I recently overheard a conversation between the two people at the checkout line in front of me. I wasn’t eavesdropping, really, it’s just that sometimes you can’t help but hear what people say.
They, as most people these days, were discussing the difficulties of 2020. The one lady seemed to disagree that 2020 is unusually bad. She responded with the statement, “Every year is just a horrible nightmare.”
I do not know her life and situation. Perhaps if I did, I would have understood her statement more fully. However, it did make me reflect on the words that we use and the impressions that they give. Is our speech, and our demeanor, such that we are always ready to share the joy of the good news of Jesus with others? In 1 Peter 3:15 we read, “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”
This verse implies that people might inquire about the hope that is in us. This would then imply that we need to be conducting ourselves as hopeful people. Our words and deeds can either project hope or despair. If “Every year is just a horrible nightmare,” people are probably not going to ask us about the hope that is in us.
A similar verse is Colossians 4:6: “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” How are we seasoning our words? It requires wisdom to know how to season our speech for the occasion and growing in wisdom is part of being a follower of Jesus.
As the people of God, we are to be holy. To be holy is to be set apart. To be holy is to be different, knowing that our words and deeds reflect something of God to others. To be holy is to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). As Israel was to let the light of God’s holiness shine to the nations around them, we too are to are to function as a conduit of God’s light.
Do people see the light and the holiness in our actions? Do people hear the light and the holiness in our words? In a world of darkness and despair, may we live in a such a way that people ask us about the hope that is in us. And when they do, be ready to give a well-seasoned answer.
