But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion. // Jeremiah 20:11

Great-Grandma Ann used to say that there were three topics that made for impolite conversation: child-rearing, religion, and politics.

I chuckle to myself when I think of her stating this since I write on religion and childrearing both. In the quiet, I read the works of scholars and academicians, formulate my thoughts, and draw my conclusions. As a writer, I share my ideas and my heart. They are a transparent gift offered to anyone willing to exchange their time for my thoughts.

Yet I admit that I do not possess a quickness of wit beneficial in discussion. I am not talented in rhetoric or debate. I draw back from arguments and contentious conversations, even those about faith. In dialogue, thoughts have to be defended to those who seek to convince and correct. On the rare occasion when I have been lured into debate, I have left shaken and disappointed because instead of being accepted I had to defend my ideas to someone else.

The Gospel readings (John 10:31-42) today unsettle my heart as I place myself in the audience, watching as not only His ideas, but Jesus’ very life is challenged. The prophet Jeremiah likewise writes of the threat he was under because of the truth he declared. Jesus and Jeremiah rose to the challenge with courage of heart, knowing that they were on the side of righteousness.

Perhaps like me, you shy away from discussion of faith or the Church. Are you comfortable declaring what you know is true with a convicted heart? If we know in our hearts that we are on the side of righteousness, why should we shrink away from sharing with others? Lord, grant that we may all have the strength and courage to speak in truth.

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