Sharing with gentleness and respect
by Charles Bertelsmeier
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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 (1 Peter 3:15b,16a).
Read 1 Peter 3:13 – 4:6
I’m sure you share all sorts of information with many different people. We do it naturally when we meet with family, friends and colleagues. In many cases, it is just part of the normal flow of conversation. When wonderful things happen to us, we are usually bursting to share what we have experienced with our friends and family. Similarly, when unpleasant things happen to us, others see the negative impacts on our personalities and want to know the cause.
God wants us to be able to share what he has been doing in our lives in the same relaxed way. Church-related activities are usually not insignificant parts of our lives. Obviously, interesting things do happen there. As part of our everyday conversations with others, we naturally share these episodes of our church lives.
But God is involved in all aspects of our lives, not just when we are involved in church or religious activities. It is just natural to share our experiences of God working in our lives when appropriate and in context. The good thing about this is that we are just sharing our experiences. It is hard for someone else to argue with us about what we have experienced.
The Apostle Peter is not asking us to convert anyone because that is the task of the Holy Spirit. I have seen people get into arguments over religious subjects, where they try to convince the other person that their point of view is correct. And people can get very emotional. Peter warns us against doing this because it destroys the communication channels and relationships.
When we approach others with the love Jesus asked us to show, we become attuned to the emotional cues of these people. We will listen carefully to their questions and remain open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit to give us the right words to share.
Heavenly Father, in your relationship with us, it is all about you giving to us and never about you taking from us to fulfil your needs. Please help us have the same attitude towards the people you bring into our lives so that our focus is on blessing them and not using them to fulfil ourselves. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in retirement in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. They have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. He keeps himself busy looking after their pot plants and the community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
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