But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect
To ‘revere Christ as Lord’ is, as the amplified version of the Bible says, to ‘give Him first place in your lives’. To give Jesus the top priority space in your life.
We can ‘be prepared’ by studying the Bible and praying. This enables us to know more of God, increasing both our knowledge of His word and our experience of His presence, which in turn increases our confidence to answer questions.
We can think about our answers in advance, so that we don’t feel like we have been put on the spot - and having an answer prepared helps us to give a gentle and thought-out response.
When we are asked questions, we can ask the Holy Spirit to bring answers to our mind and to give us the words to say, that will speak right into the questioner’s life, in a way that we could not do with our own natural ability.
How would you explain your hope in Jesus if someone asked you?