Sunday, January 06, 2008

On Call, for hope.


I'm on call right now. Working at the hospital means having my pager turned on during the 3rd shift. When I get a page I get 30 minutes to get to the paging unit.

I never sleep too well these nights. When I do get lulled to neverland there is the possibility, and a good one, the pager will wake me. It's odd but I do like the prospect of adventure and challenge that comes with the job. Of course, I don't delight in responding to traumas and deaths, but I do find appeal in having to triage and act in an unknown situation.

I'm reminded about the call to always be ready, to always be on call, in 1 Peter 3:15, "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. But do this with gentleness and respect."

This make me wonder two things. First, are we really prepared to give an answer? I hear people quote this verse as a reason for Christians to study apologetics. So when we argue with atheist we can convince them of the existence of a Creator, etc, etc. There is value in that and it is important to understand what we believe. I find it troubling that most Christians are just illiterate in reading the Bible and understanding what and why we believe.

But in re-reading that verse I am more intrigued by the latter part of the verse that often goes unnoticed, "to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."

I do not get many people asking me that question. Rarely do people ask me about the hope I have.

Why do we ask certain people questions? Well, simply put, because we think they have the answer. (If my car isn't running I'm not going to ask a heart surgeon, I'm going to go to a mechanic.) Perhaps the reason we don't get asked these questions is because we don't live in a way that radiates this hope.

I don't have any conclusions but I wonder what does it mean to live with this hope?

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