Boldness

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” – Acts 4:13

When we asked our kids how they felt about being bold for their faith, we got a variety of answers. Elijah, in kinder, pretty much makes a point of asking everyone—adults whom we host, teachers at school—whether they believe in God (usually this leads to an awkward pause after which the adult replies, “why do you ask? do you?” whereupon Elijah continues to fix them with his stare and say, “yes. Do you?”). Eric, in second grade, says he feels embarrassed talking about God at school because no one else believes in Him. Ellie chose “boldness” to describe how she most wants to grow in fifth grade (Esme, in preschool, had no comment).

Most of us probably land where Ellie is. The Bay Area seems extremely bold in some ways, but not in others. We are bold in taking risks for innovation, in disrupting the status quo, in speaking out about various political, social and environmental issues. But it’s not as easy to be bold about Jesus. I find myself editing my speech more here, being less spiritually explicit. It feels easier to say I’m going on a “personal retreat” rather than a “prayer retreat,” to talk about the latest novel or article I’m reading instead of the Bible I’m studying.

Boldness is not only something I struggle with practicing; I’m not even sure it’s something I desire. I am much more likely to pray that God would change the culture around me than to ask for more boldness as I live within it. Yet boldness is an unavoidable theme in this chapter of Acts: it was the most striking quality of Peter and John’s speech (verse 13); it was the only thing they asked for themselves (verse 29), and it was how they continued to act (verse 31). In all three instances, the boldness is specifically boldness of speech. Not boldness of thought, or writing, or even actions, but boldness to speak the word of God. Boldness is twice the only thing Paul asks the Ephesian church to pray for him to have: “and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel… that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:19-20).

In one sense, this is encouraging. If they prayed for it, it must have meant they struggled with fear and reservation—and they were undoubtedly facing more acute, personal derision of and opposition to their faith than I do. But they asked for boldness. This is something we can pray for. Boldness also comes as we spend time being with Jesus (verse 13), and is an attribute of being filled with the Holy Spirit (verse 8): as one pastor put it, “courage comes from communion.” I find that when I ask, often God gives me unexpected opportunities to be bold in my speech, some small, some big. Peter could have been vague about how the lame man came to be healed, but he was alarmingly specific: and this from the man who once didn’t own up to even knowing Jesus. That is the power of the Holy Spirit, to give us boldness to speak the word of God at the right time.