After needing some late-game heroics from Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to escape with an overtime victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics toppled the Indiana Pacers 126-110 in Game 2 to take a 2-0 series lead. The Celtics were, at times, forced to employ an unusual lineup to earn their second win in the series. Already shorthanded in the post due to an injury to Kristaps Porzingis, Boston suffered another injury blow in the first quarter, as reserve center, Luke Kornet sprained his left wrist. With many injuries limiting their options down low, Boston utilized six-foot-seven reserve forward, Oshae Brissett at center for stretches of the contest. Brissett, who played 16 minutes through the first two rounds of the playoffs, responded by putting together a game-best plus-18 performance in 12 minutes on the hardwood. It was an inspiring performance from a little-used reserve playing in an unfamiliar position. Commenting on Brissett’s performance, Celtics guard, Jrue Holiday said, “He stays ready. He hasn't seen many minutes this postseason, probably didn't play as much as he wanted to in the regular season, but that's part of sacrificing and staying ready.” Regardless of how much action a player has been getting, they must always stay prepared and ready for action since they never know when their number will be called. As followers of Jesus, we never know when we'll be “called into action” when someone questions us about our faith. When we live in obedience to God’s Word, demonstrating righteous character and talking openly about our faith, there will be times when people approach us to ask questions about why we live the way we do or why we believe what we believe. Since those moments can seemingly come out of nowhere, we must stay ready and prepared to respond properly when people ask those questions. 1 Peter 3:15 (ESV) states, “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.” It’s important to prepare in advance for how we answer questions people may ask about our faith. We should have a response ready, letting others know why we hope in Jesus. Of course, this doesn’t mean there’s no room for the Holy Spirit to guide us into saying spontaneous and unprompted things during a conversation. But it does mean we must do the difficult work of studying and preparing to have information ready and available to use as we engage with people. While not every one of us will be a biblical scholar, we’re all expected to know how to make a defense for our faith. This means we need to be students of God’s Word and take the time to study apologetics (the discipline of defending the Christian faith). Today, let’s make sure we’re staying ready for the conversations that eventually come our way by being prepared in advance with the responses we give. I’m Matt Osborne, and you can UNPACK that! PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please help me as I study and learn to be properly prepared to respond to people who ask about my faith. I pray that You will guide my conversations and use my responses to bring many people to Christ. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
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