Meditations from Zion

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…”

Gentleness and respect for the other! But also, be gentle with yourself. This scripture used to send me into fear and trembling. Oh my… I’m going to have to lay out the facts of my faith. I’ll need to have scriptures memorized. I’ll have to know the 4 Spiritual Laws. I’ll have to answer tough questions about the complexities and apparent discrepancies in scripture. Oh no!

But now, I read this verse with thanksgiving. I thank God for the Christ of my heart. I thank God for the works He has done in my heart so far… and what He will continue to do … for you see, it’s all part of that “sanctification” process. And so, all I can share is what I know. God is not asking me to be more than I am. He’s not asking me to be a preacher or an apostle or a polished speaker. All I need to tell is my story. My story is God’s story. I am just one sliver of God’s grace. And for that I am grateful because without it, I would be dead, literally.

When Christ found me in New York City in 1979, I was spiraling down a very slippery slope while living a decadent life. Everything about me was self-centered and self-destructive from drugs to alcohol to sexual improprieties. And yet, when He touched me… it was with gentleness and respect. Oh yes, and I know, if He could do this for me, when I was living the darkest of lives… then He can do it for anyone else. And shouldn’t I do the same? Shouldn’t I, then, be able to offer gentleness and respect to all persons … for who is say, who might see the truth of Christ through me? Just the way I am… so far.