A thought-provoking morning

Yesterday morning at church made me think about a lot of things. I guess it started in Bible class when the teacher asked us a seemingly simple question: "What is the Bible?"

The first person to contribute to the answer said that it's a history book. I added that while the Bible is a history book in some ways, it only records certain parts of history about certain people, and since the biblical writers were inspired by God, we only have the parts of the story that God wants us to know. And that sparked an entirely different conversation about what I meant by "inspired," and why would God not want us to have the whole story?

When he first asked us to describe the Bible, part of me questioned where he was going with the whole discussion. Everyone in the class had been attending church for years, and most of us have a fairly good knowledge of Scripture. Why would he want to define "the Bible?"

The answer to that question became clear when he asked someone to read I Peter 3:15.

But in your hearts set apart 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....

How can we tell others about the hope that we have when we don't even know why we have that hope? Sometimes I wonder if we even know WHAT that hope is, let alone where it comes from. A lawyer can't tell someone what it's like to be a doctor because the lawyer doesn't know the intricacies of practicing medicine. By the same token, we can't tell someone what it means to be a follower of Christ if we don't know the tenets of our faith. Just as important as knowing WHAT our faith is is knowing WHY we have that faith. I noticed that the admissions officers at Harding would often connect prospective students with current students, whether through guided tours of campus or a room in the dorm for a night. Those current students made the choice to attend Harding, and they will know WHY they chose it over others. What better way to attract new students than through the testimonies of people who have been in their shoes? What better way to attract people to Christ than through the personal testimonies of Christians? This is where "always be prepared to give an answer" comes into play.

As I digested the class discussion yesterday, I realized that working in Bremen for these next couple of years will really test whether or not I have an answer to give and whether or not I am prepared to explain that answer to someone else. The fact that we started with something as basic as "What is the Bible?" was also good because some people need to start from there because that's where they're at. Who knows, someone else might be at the point of discussing what the Hebrews writer meant when he called Jesus "high priest in the order of Melchizedek." Whatever the question, I need to be prepared to answer it, whether I know the answer myself or I do some research with the person to find an answer.