When I was a very young man, I was in the lower ranks of the Boy Scouts. My dad and I would attend the “pack gatherings” every week with enthusiasm. I later found that I like playing ball more than tying knots, so I stopped attending the meetings. However, the motto of the Boy Scouts has stuck with me to this day, “Be prepared.” Robert Baden-Powell, the English soldier who founded the Boy Scouts, published the motto “Be Prepared” in his 1908 handbook, Scouting for Boys. He wrote that to be prepared meant “You are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty”.
Just last night I was looking through my turkey hunting vest making sure I had everything I need for the season. I had my different calls in their right pouch or pocket, I had my decoys and their stands, I had my ammo in its correct pocket too, and I had some water and bug spray too. Alas, I realized that I had not put my gloves back from using them in the fall. I looked everywhere for them, but could not find them. In that moment, I was unprepared to go afield.
Scripture calls us to be prepared as well. In 1 Peter 3:15 we read, “but 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.” We must be ready to defend what we believe about the Bible. Mr. Baden-Powell’s phrase “hits the nail on the head” with the piece of scripture, doesn’t it? Our duty as Christians is to shine the light of Christ everywhere we go, and if someone tries to cover our light, let us have the courage to blast the cover away and shine ever brighter!
Logan Baldwin