Semper Paratus
“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.”—1 Peter 3:15
The motto of the Coast Guard is “Semper Paratus,” which is Latin for “always ready.” A coastguardsman must be ready to go out to sea at a moment’s notice, ready to risk his or her life in order to rescue someone who is in trouble. And while “always ready” shows their readiness and willingness to go wherever whenever, it is their unofficial motto that shows how far they are willing to go to rescue someone. Their unofficial motto is, “You have to go out, you don’t have to come back.” Which means that they must be ready and willing to die so that others might live. They can’t wait until conditions are safe, they can’t wait until someone else comes to help, they have to go out to those who are hurting and in need of rescue.
As Christians, we must always be prepared to “give a reason for the hope that is in you”—1 Peter 3:15. We must not wait for others who are perhaps better trained, or wait for a safe moment when persecution dies down. We must be ready to speak about Christ to anyone—our family, our friends, our colleagues, our boss, our employees, fellow students, or the stranger in line at the grocery store. If someone is in need, as Christians it is our duty to help and to speak the truth of Christ. It doesn’t matter whether we feel like it, or whether we’re not quite sure what to say, but we must be ready to tell others why we believe and trust in Christ and in Him alone. We must be ready and willing to take great steps of faith for Christ—no matter what the cost, because we show by our obedient steps of faith that Christ means more to us than anything else. Everything we have and are is because of Him. We have to go out into the entire world telling others about the hope that we have in Christ, but we don’t have to come back. Whether we live or whether we die is ultimately of no matter to the child of God because we know that “to live is Christ and to die is gain”—Philippians 1:21. This life is the warm-up act for eternity and, as Maximus, the main character in the film Gladiator put it, “What we do in life echoes for eternity.” What we do in life does echo for eternity, and eternity is when we will be in the presence of our heart’s desire—Jesus Christ. All of what we knew in this world will fade as we eternally delight and enjoy Him for who He is and what He has done on our behalf.
How about us? What is the motto of our lives? Are we “always ready” to give a reason for the hope that is within us? What is keeping us from it? Are we ready to go out and share, knowing that we may not come back? For some of us that means sharing Christ no matter what loss we experience (e.g., loss of friends, job, relationships, etc.), while for others it means taking a step of faith to serve the Lord in full-time ministry, possibly overseas where it may mean going into the mission field and literally giving one’s life for Christ’s name to be made known. I pray that each of us may be able to say “Semper Paratus” without reservation. May we always be ready to share Christ in the hope and knowledge that God will use our steps of faith and obedience to bring much glory to Himself so that others may know and celebrate Him who is the greatest heart’s desire the world has ever known. Amen.
The motto of the Coast Guard is “Semper Paratus,” which is Latin for “always ready.” A coastguardsman must be ready to go out to sea at a moment’s notice, ready to risk his or her life in order to rescue someone who is in trouble. And while “always ready” shows their readiness and willingness to go wherever whenever, it is their unofficial motto that shows how far they are willing to go to rescue someone. Their unofficial motto is, “You have to go out, you don’t have to come back.” Which means that they must be ready and willing to die so that others might live. They can’t wait until conditions are safe, they can’t wait until someone else comes to help, they have to go out to those who are hurting and in need of rescue.
As Christians, we must always be prepared to “give a reason for the hope that is in you”—1 Peter 3:15. We must not wait for others who are perhaps better trained, or wait for a safe moment when persecution dies down. We must be ready to speak about Christ to anyone—our family, our friends, our colleagues, our boss, our employees, fellow students, or the stranger in line at the grocery store. If someone is in need, as Christians it is our duty to help and to speak the truth of Christ. It doesn’t matter whether we feel like it, or whether we’re not quite sure what to say, but we must be ready to tell others why we believe and trust in Christ and in Him alone. We must be ready and willing to take great steps of faith for Christ—no matter what the cost, because we show by our obedient steps of faith that Christ means more to us than anything else. Everything we have and are is because of Him. We have to go out into the entire world telling others about the hope that we have in Christ, but we don’t have to come back. Whether we live or whether we die is ultimately of no matter to the child of God because we know that “to live is Christ and to die is gain”—Philippians 1:21. This life is the warm-up act for eternity and, as Maximus, the main character in the film Gladiator put it, “What we do in life echoes for eternity.” What we do in life does echo for eternity, and eternity is when we will be in the presence of our heart’s desire—Jesus Christ. All of what we knew in this world will fade as we eternally delight and enjoy Him for who He is and what He has done on our behalf.
How about us? What is the motto of our lives? Are we “always ready” to give a reason for the hope that is within us? What is keeping us from it? Are we ready to go out and share, knowing that we may not come back? For some of us that means sharing Christ no matter what loss we experience (e.g., loss of friends, job, relationships, etc.), while for others it means taking a step of faith to serve the Lord in full-time ministry, possibly overseas where it may mean going into the mission field and literally giving one’s life for Christ’s name to be made known. I pray that each of us may be able to say “Semper Paratus” without reservation. May we always be ready to share Christ in the hope and knowledge that God will use our steps of faith and obedience to bring much glory to Himself so that others may know and celebrate Him who is the greatest heart’s desire the world has ever known. Amen.
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