Holding Back The Truth

If someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

1 Peter 3:15

“Okay, Lord! I hear You now!”

I do not think I will ever forget coming home from college one particular weekend to see my sweet mama and daddy. It was so fun to eat my mother’s good southern cooking and dawdle around town, visiting the new shops in our mini mall. Just as I was getting ready to leave the mall, a jewelry store beckoned to me.

While I was gazing into the sparkling glass cases, the clerk smiled and said something like, “You look so happy. You have a glow. What makes you so happy?” This question was so out of the blue and unexpected, I mumbled something like “Oh, I’m just happy” and exited the store as quickly as possible! I didn’t like the feeling of being caught off guard, even though deep down I knew I should have answered honestly, that my joy came from knowing Jesus. But at that moment I felt embarrassed to admit it.

Outside the mall entrance, I leaned against the brick wall, devastated that I did not share the truth of my hope in Christ with the clerk. The words from Romans 1—“I am not ashamed of the gospel”—kept replaying in my mind. I felt as though I had broken God’s heart.

“I am sorry, God, that I wasn’t a bold witness for You. Please forgive me for not taking every opportunity to share what You have done for all of us. Jesus, You are the hope within me.”

Life is so short. Do not hold back hope, the only hope, now and forever—Jesus Christ. If we in Christ don’t tell others, who will? Be ready to seize every opportunity to share His truth, the simple Good News that you and I live forgiven in Christ.