Do you know the answer?

What do you think is the most embarrassing thing that can happen?

For some people there is nothing more embarrassing than for someone to ask them a question and to not know the answer especially when they think, and the person asking the question thinks, that they should know the answer. When that happens to you, you feel foolish and uncomfortable, sensing that you have been somehow caught; caught with your pants down as it were (which is in the top 10 of the most embarrassing things that can happen to a person).

What then if someone came up to you today and asked — “What does it mean to be a Christian?” How would you answer them? And how comfortable would you feel? Would you be embarrassed by your answer, feeling that you hadn’t quite said what should be said? Or would you be excited by the opportunity to answer — feeling that you had a chance to communicate directly to someone just how important the life of faith is.

It never ceases to amaze me how few people are excited by the prospect of sharing their faith, and of telling people about how important God is to them. What explains this? Why do we enthuse about some things, and yet not others?

What we say is significant. It tells people what is important to us. Gauging from what most people talk about, the most important things in life are: families, professional sports, movies, and the weather — not necessarily in that order. We talk about things like shopping prices, crime, and the question of who is in a relationship to whom, and who is treating who badly. You can modify that list if you want, but somehow I cannot help thinking that almost all the things that dominate our daily conversations are things that are a long way from what the Scriptures tell us we should be thinking about and speaking about.

I started by asking: What does it mean to be a Christian?

Most of our conversations do little to identify us as disciples of Christ, nor do they do much to help others come to know and experience the love of God in their lives. I don’t expect today — out of this devotional, that many of you will rush right out and tell someone else about the wonderful things that God has done in your life. But I do hope today you will consider your witness — if you are just perhaps a little too silent about God, and if you decide you are — perhaps you might consider why that is.

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Editor’s note: The Rev. Dr. Scott Stewart is the pastor of Pea Ridge United Methodist Church and Brightwater Methodist Church. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. He can be contacted at revjstewart@gmail.com or 479-659-9519.