You probably have 1 Peter 3:15 memorized. It is one of those verses that challenges the way we live. We are supposed to do that in a way that causes people to ask what is different, why do we do what we do, stuff like that.
No one however has ever walked up to me and said, “Can you please give me an account of the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence?” Hasn’t happened, don’t expect that it ever will, no the questions and sometimes the statements are much vaguer…
It happened to me today. I have been having my cars worked on at the same dealership for several years. I have purchased 4 cars of that make and have used the same service rep for the entire time. We are on a first name basis. I have his cell number and we occasionally exchange text messages, which is not my primary means of communication.
I took my car in today. When I got in his line there were two people ahead of me. He saw me, lit up, and greeted me by name. When I got to the counter he said that he was really tired of the day all he had been dealing with was oil changes. It turns out that was not the real issue. All of the people he had dealt with just came up to him and asked for service, treating him like a fixture in the lobby. No conversation, no interaction other than asking for the service they wanted.
Over the years I have asked him about his family, his hobbies, other stuff, we have a conversation every time I see him. Same today. He went out of his way to help today, walked me over to get a rental car – they were out. But during that walk he shared his frustration with where he was in his life at the moment. We started a conversation that may lead to us getting together to work through some issues in his life that will lead to me being able to explain the hope that is in me…
The point is, people notice. They are going to probe. They will not come out and ask if you are a Christian – well that did happen to me once. But they will ask questions that if you are looking for the opportunity will lead to your being able to tell them about your hope.
Ask the Lord, like I need to do more consistently, to make you sensitive to those types of questions.
- “Why aren’t you upset about…”
- “Have you seen 50 Shades of Grey yet?”
- “How come you don’t…”
It happened to me today. I have been having my cars worked on at the same dealership for several years. I have purchased 4 cars of that make and have used the same service rep for the entire time. We are on a first name basis. I have his cell number and we occasionally exchange text messages, which is not my primary means of communication.
I took my car in today. When I got in his line there were two people ahead of me. He saw me, lit up, and greeted me by name. When I got to the counter he said that he was really tired of the day all he had been dealing with was oil changes. It turns out that was not the real issue. All of the people he had dealt with just came up to him and asked for service, treating him like a fixture in the lobby. No conversation, no interaction other than asking for the service they wanted.
Over the years I have asked him about his family, his hobbies, other stuff, we have a conversation every time I see him. Same today. He went out of his way to help today, walked me over to get a rental car – they were out. But during that walk he shared his frustration with where he was in his life at the moment. We started a conversation that may lead to us getting together to work through some issues in his life that will lead to me being able to explain the hope that is in me…
The point is, people notice. They are going to probe. They will not come out and ask if you are a Christian – well that did happen to me once. But they will ask questions that if you are looking for the opportunity will lead to your being able to tell them about your hope.
Ask the Lord, like I need to do more consistently, to make you sensitive to those types of questions.
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