Be Ready To Give An Answer

There comes a moment in every Christian’s life when silence is no longer enough. The world will eventually ask not just what you believe, but why. And in that moment, the question is not whether you have faith — but whether your faith has a voice.

In the previous reflection, we asked whether your faith can withstand scrutiny. This is the next step: can your faith be expressed — clearly, confidently, and without fear?

Because the command of Scripture is not passive or optional:

“Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you — yet with gentleness and reverence.”
(1 Peter 3:15)
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Faith Was Never Meant to Stay Private

Modern culture has sold many Christians a lie — that faith is “private,” something internal, personal, unspoken. But the Gospel was never private. Christ did not call us to hide the truth, but to witness to it.

Private preference can be private.
Personal taste can be private.
Truth cannot be private.
Because truth by nature is public, and faith is truth lived out loud.

Silence is not humility.
Silence is surrender.

St. Gregory the Theologian warned:
“Not to share what we believe is to bury the treasure entrusted to us.”

A buried treasure helps no one.
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Real Witness in Real Life

Witness isn’t an abstract concept — it happens in concrete moments:

The student who speaks up in a classroom when Christianity is mocked, not angrily, but calmly saying, “I actually believe in God — and here is why.”
That is witness.

The employee who refuses to lie or distort numbers because conscience and Scripture won’t allow it — and who admits openly, “My integrity is before God first.”
That is witness.

And sometimes, the cost is public:

The man or woman who risks reputation, position, or favor rather than compromise the truth — not as a martyr of ego, but of conviction.
That is witness.

Christian witness is not aggression.
But neither is it silence.
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Not Argument for Victory — Argument for Truth

Some imagine defending the faith means being combative. Others retreat and say, “Faith isn’t something you argue about.” Both are distortions.

St. John Chrysostom said:
“It is not enough to believe; we must also speak the truth boldly.”

And St. Basil taught:
“The mouth that confesses faith is as important as the heart that receives it.”

The Apostle Paul goes further:
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ.”
(2 Corinthians 10:5)

We do not demolish people — we demolish lies.
We do not humiliate souls — we liberate truth.
We do not win debates — we win ground back for the Kingdom.

This is not hostility. This is stewardship.
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Readiness Is a Spiritual Discipline

To “be ready” does not mean to improvise. It means preparation — the fruit of prayer, Scripture, and deliberate formation.

You don’t need a scholar’s mind.
You need a disciple’s commitment.

A few clear reasons for belief, rooted deeply in conviction, can open doors that arguments never could.

Witness is born from love, strengthened by truth, and made visible by courage.
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A Final Charge

There will come a moment — perhaps sooner than you think — when your silence or your courage will preach a sermon louder than any pulpit.

When that moment arrives…

Be ready.
Be steady.
Be fearless.
Be ready to give an answer.