Acknowledging
Our Faith and Hope in Christ
Guest post by my dad
An
important characteristic of one who glorifies God daily is the ever-readiness
to explain the reason for our faith, simply acknowledging that Jesus Christ is
the reason for our hope:
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.
1 Peter 3:15a
On
Tuesday night, August 20, 1722, Jonathan Edwards penned this brief entry in his
diary, "Not careful enough in watching opportunities of bringing Christian
discourse with good grace. Do not
exercise myself half enough in this holy art; neither have I courage enough to
carry it on with a good grace."[i] Two centuries ago, in Puritan New England, he
struggled with the same disciplines we struggle with today. We all wrestle with the difficulties of Acknowledging
to everyone around us that Jesus Christ is our Savior from sin and the Lord of
our life will.
But
Jesus called us to acknowledge that we are followers of Jesus Christ as an act
of obedience (See Matthew 10:32). When
we acknowledge our relationship with Jesus Christ, confessing that he is Lord,
God is glorified (See Philippians 2:9-11).
We
can set the stage to do this by making our environment reveal our commitment to
Christ: a plaque on our wall, a Bible and Christian books on our end table,
desk, or briefcase, the effects of our life that will openly provide evidence
to our faith. Next, our conversation should include the natural expression of
our relationship to Christ. Just as we speak of our family and friends, we
should be able to express our confidence in God and his work in our life. As
naturally as we may say, "I appreciate what my wife did for me this
week," we should also be comfortable saying, "I am so grateful for
how the Lord has worked out the details of this week for me."
I
have often become engaged in technical discussions about Christianity with
fellow workers- scientists and engineers. Over the years, many have been
curious about my faith, and it has given me ample opportunity to discuss the
logical arguments for my faith. I believe in the value of apologetics, the
logical defense of the faith, but I have learned that this is no replacement
for acknowledging my personal
relationship with Christ.
One
day after work back in 1989, I had a particularly heated discussion about the
existence of God with a coworker. That evening was so vivid I can still picture
the conversation in is my office. Bob
was the company's lead mathematician, an expert in the philosophy of science,
and an avowed agnostic. We talked and talked until it made me late for supper.
We argued and argued – I was no match for Bob's knowledge of the philosophical
arguments against any knowledge of the existence of God. I finally blurted out to Bob, "Well, I
guess the only thing you do believe is that we cannot believe anything!" I
picked up my briefcase and went home. The discussion left me frustrated and quite
disappointed with the emotion I had expressed in the tense discussion.
On
the way home in my car that evening, God clearly brought to my mind an account
that I had recently read in Mark's Gospel.
In that account, Jesus had released a man in the city of Gadara from
demonic possession, creating a furor in the local area. As Jesus departed the
area, the man requested to join Jesus' disciples to return to Capernaum. But
Jesus denied him permission to join them, instructing him instead to simply, "Go home to your family and tell
them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."
(See Mark 5:1-20).
The passage spoke directly to my heart. In my zeal to defend the Christian faith on
the basics of logic and reason alone, I had overlooked the importance of simply
acknowledging my personal faith, what the Lord had done for me and how he has had mercy on me.
This
brings glory to God when we simply tell what He, in His mercy, has done in our
life. As an expert witness to the events
of our own life, our testimony to God's work of salvation is straightforward:
"Tell them how much the Lord has done for you."
Listen
to what the Lord says about His delight, as we acknowledge His work in our
lives:
This is what the LORD says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his
wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his
riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight," declares
the LORD.
(Jeremiah 9:23-24).
As
Jesus pleased the Father; we, too, bring delight to Him when we acknowledge to
others that we know Him and are willing to testify to the kindness, justice, and
righteousness of His character. This is the basis of our hope
