Know Why
“But in your hearts revere 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 3:15
Why? This often has become known as the hyper-annoying one-word reply and retort from kids to their parent’s instructions. When asked to clean their room. Why? When told it is bedtime. Why? When we say to eat their vegetables. Why? When questioned if they did their homework before playing video games. Why? When reminded to use good manners and to say “please” and “thank you”. Why? Kids can throw the “Why?” around so much that as parents, we get aggravated to the point of wanting to do away with this question altogether.
Before we throw the “Why?” out with the bathwater, I want us to see its importance in conveying the decisions we make and the actions we take. We need to learn to do a better job of knowing the “WHY?” when it comes to our devotion, decisions, and doing. Hopefully, the “WHY?” is coming from a place of personal choice and commitment, rather than external circumstances. In Luke 6:45 Jesus says, “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
- If a teenager is offered to try drinking or smoking, the hope is their answer isn’t simply because their parents told them not to mess with that stuff.
- If a child is asking one parent to do something, the wrong answer would be to say, “Well, mommy said no.”
- When the family is complaining about going to church, we need to shift our wording from “we have to go to church,” to “we get to go to church”.
As we have moved through Vision Month focusing on seeing what the Lord has in store for us in the season ahead, we have been unpacking our new Mission Statement: A People For Jesus, In Community, and On Mission. This statement in many ways communicates the purpose and priority to all our practices and programs. The “Why?” should define our targets, determine our choices, and drive our tasks. Even our Saturday Night 5 pm Service beginning this weekend is only the “What?” if we do not share the reason. The “Why?” for opening our doors to another day/service is to give people in our church who cannot attend Sundays the opportunity to worship and welcome people in our community looking for a church home, seeking answers for life, or who are new to the faith.
May our answers speak clarity, purpose, and what is in our hearts as we seek after and fully follow the Lord!