ESSENTIALS FOR WELLNESS
‘Readiness’
‘Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you are living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy’
‘READY, STEADY, GO’
Our grandson, Fraser, came out of school one afternoon with the news that he had been chosen to represent his school in a cross-country race. He was keen to get race-fit, and persuaded his Dad to go running with him in readiness for the big race. Most races start with a ‘ready, steady, go’. You can’t start the race until you are ready.
In Peter’s letter, he tells us that we need to be ready to speak up for Jesus. But that reference to readiness is preceded and ends with reference to suffering, which is a little off-putting. We might be enthusiastic to tell others about Jesus, but not so enthusiastic about the suffering that may accompany it. But think about the persecuted church all over the world today, the Christians in Syria and Palestine who live daily with fear of persecution. The Christians in Russia and China who are hardly tolerated for their beliefs and have to keep them hidden. There are biblical heroes and heroines too, Stephen, Paul, Priscilla and Aquilla to name just a few, who make us realise that speaking out about Jesus can lead to suffering, and even death.
In order to speak about Jesus and our faith we need to be clear what we are going to say. I say to Ministerial Candidates that they have to have a ‘story’. We need to think clearly about our story – what it means to us to be a Christian, why we believe what we believe, what our relationship is with Jesus. Maybe we need to prepare those questions in our mind so that our mouths can be ready to answer them. It’s about becoming ‘race-fit’. We don’t have to stand on street corners to tell people about Jesus.
We don’t have to stand out as being odd or weird – a religious nut. Sometimes we don’t even need words – people can tell by the way we live what we believe, and that in itself can prompt a conversation. We need to pray for opportunities to share our experience of the Gospel so that we can be ready standing in a supermarket queue, on a bus, amongst our family and friends should the circumstance arise. Yes, there may be ridicule or what we say might be dismissed, but we still need to be ready to speak up for Jesus in a natural and gentle way whenever we are given the opportunity.
Ready, steady, go.
Amen.