Being Prepared

Being Prepared.  Hyper-alertness and vigilant preparedness, living near our military installation has given me a new appreciation for constant readiness. While I might have already known some synonyms for the word readiness (e.g., watchfulness, attentiveness), I am now pleased to have an entire cadre of people who embody the reality of readiness in their collective commitment to make preparedness their constant focus. Readiness is no joke at Seymour Johnson, much like I suppose would be the case at any of our nation’s military installations. Drills and training, followed by more training and drills, it seems like the job of the military servicemember is to be and remain ready. Perhaps readiness remains more in the category of potential readiness in times of peace than in times of war, but whether at war or in peace, it takes an active and disciplined mind to maintain heightened alertness.

The Apostle Peter used this word, preparedness, twice in his First Epistle (1:5; 3:15). We who have been “caused by God to be born again” (1 Pet. 1:3) are also those “who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:5). In other words, God is hyper-vigilant for us, as in, on our behalf. It is his job, so to speak, to cause us to be prepared to display his salvation. The way he keeps us ready is by constantly testing us for “the genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire” (1 Pet. 1:7). God vigilantly makes us vigilant!

The second time preparedness appears in First Peter is in chapter three. As it was in chapter one, the church’s preparedness often braids together with testing and trials. In chapter three, Peter instructed the persecuted church, “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet. 3:15). When witnessing for Christ was a capital crime (as it is today in many countries) and when brothers and sisters were being imprisoned or killed for honoring Christ as Lord (instead of hailing Caesar as lord), Peter touched upon the fortitude of being prepared. It is our job to be ready always to bear witness to Christ, even if faithfulness to Christ might be regarded as treason to Caesar.

When Peter’s two uses of preparedness are fused together, they form a singular picture. Chapter one’s readiness is God’s work done in us to cause us to be ready. Chapter three’s readiness is our work done through God’s power to “make a defense to anyone who asks” (1 Pet. 3:15). Either way one looks at it, biblical readiness is God’s power enabling our obedience. Are we ready? God has caused us to be ready and he will continue to enable our readiness, even by using tests and trials, for giving reason to anyone who asks for our hope.