But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. 1 Peter 3:15
I recently read the story of several firefighters who were on a flight from Boston to Colorado. It was not too long into their trip that a fellow passenger began having a medical emergency. The firefighters quickly sprang into action. They ended up doing CPR, performing other lifesaving measures, and saving the man’s life.
I am sure that these firefighters did not board the flight that day expecting to be called on to save a life. After all, they do that day in and day out at their jobs. Nevertheless, they never hesitated. They were prepared and ready for what had happened. They never asked questions, they simply responded.
That is what we are being told here in 1 Peter 3:15. The verse starts out telling us that we should sanctify God in our hearts. In other words, we should have a special place for Him where he is held in high respect. But the verse does not stop there. It continues that the Christian should always be ready to give an answer to everyone that asks the reason for the hope that is in us. No matter where we go, no matter what we are doing, we should be ready to tell others why we are Christians and believe as we do.
It does not matter if we are at work, school, out to eat, or boarding an airplane, if anyone asks why we hold to our hope in God, we should be ready to answer. That does not mean that we simply try to think of something in the moment. It’s something that we should know beyond the shadow of a doubt in our hearts that we can share without hesitation. Are you ready to share your defense of Christ if you were asked today?
