I was concerned about my neighbor's spiritual health because he had been in such poor physical health. So one day I asked him, "Are you ready to meet God? If something were to happen to you, are you ready?"

To my delight, he answered, "Yes, I took care of that." And he proceeded to tell me that he had trusted Jesus as Savior when he was a teenager. As we continued to talk, though, I found out he had some serious questions about the Bible and how everything fits together. He asked about God, Satan, sin, and the existence of evil in the world. I answered his questions the best I could, but that wasn't the way I thought the conversation would go.

Thankfully, my neighbor was a believer and was open to the things of God. Some people, though, can be antagonistic and may have the desire to mock or persecute us. Peter said that when such people ask us questions about our faith, we should "always be ready"—ready to explain our faith and hope in Christ (1 Peter 3:15). But to do so effectively, we must answer our questioners with gentleness and courtesy, not with harshness or disrespect.

We may not always be persecuted for or questioned about our faith, but we should always be ready!  — Dave Branon  — Dave Branon