Two years ago, on an October
afternoon, I walked into my philosophy
discussion class at university. The
tutor put up one word on the board:
Euthanasia. Our class discussion was
going to be on whether or not it was
moral for people to have an assisted
death. Seen the movie "Me Before You"?
We were going right to the heart of
that.
I knew I had to stand up for what I
felt was the right thing, but it was
terrifying. There were 15 people who
voted "for" the legalisation of
euthanasia in the class. There was 1
person who voted against. Guess who?
Yep. Me. My argument was that life was
a sacred thing given to us, and that
humans shouldn't have the authority to
decide where and when they were going
to end it. But I was completely
out-argued by this class for my
"religious" reasoning and mocked for
my ignorant view of the world.
To be honest, I don't really remember
what I said. All I knew was that
taking life was wrong, so I just kept
sticking to that one mantra and tried
to defend it from all the opposing
views. I probably didn't word my
arguments well; I didn't have a ton of
facts to back up my points. At the end
of the class I went home and cried. It
felt like a defeat.
You see, when I picture "defenders of
the faith", I think of women who were
bold, courageous, who didn't take no
for an answer. They were warriors, or
missionaries, or doctors. I am none of
those things, clearly! In this class I
didn't win everyone over. But maybe
that wasn't the point. I think that
when God calls us to defend the faith,
it doesn't automatically mean that
we'll convince everyone of our
perspective. Maybe the important thing
is just that we are able to speak out.
I realised that God is still calling
me to be a defender, to speak up for
the faith when the moment calls for
it, even if I don't win the debate.
God doesn't expect us to stand out
just on our own strength. If he wants
you to defend the faith, he'll give
you the grace and courage in that
moment to speak out. All we need to do
is keep coming to him everyday and
asking for that grace. It seems like a
scary thing at first, but God is a
patient teacher. He won't put you in a
life or death situation straight away-
but he might work through a
conversation you have with a friend or
a teacher.
In Matthew's gospel, when Jesus sent
out the 12 disciples to go and preach
to the surrounding towns, he instructs
them saying,
"But
when they arrest you, do not
worry about what to say or how
to say it. At that time you will
be given what to say, for it
will not be you speaking, but
the Spirit of your Father
speaking through you" Matthew
10: 19-20
God will speak through us, if we give
him the opportunity. Plus, he takes
the weight off our shoulders- it won't
even be us speaking, but the Spirit of
our Father speaking through us. Being
a defender of the faith is no small
thing- but I fully believe God is
asking just that of each of us
everyday.
Let's encourage each other in this!
Let's pray for the grace we need to
speak out, and let's affirm other
people that we see defending the
faith. It is a powerful way to glorify
God in the world we live in.
Mhairi
Jackson is from the
Community of the Risen
Christ in Glasgow,
Scotland. She is studying at
the University of Glasgow
and is actively
involved in University
Christian Outreach there.
This article
first appeared in The
Lovely Commission, a new
publishing venture and brand of Kairos
North America. It is is run by
Molly Kilpatrick and Mary Rose Jordan and a
team of contributors from various
Christian communities in North
America and beyond. Together they
are working to build a culture of
radical love, femininity, modesty of
heart, mind, and body amongst young
women.
