Though I know you are not a person, apologetics, I’m going to show you some affection on this day of celebrating love.

Apologetics, you are often misunderstood. I read about you in articles that treat you as though you are some snobby endeavor for pretentious Christian intellectuals. Sure, some would say, you have your merits when people begin to doubt their faith, but overall you are quite often viewed as a suspicious figure. Some think you are to be used sparingly…just in case you show your “true self.” And I can only image what people may think you are: some raging monster of objective truth that doesn’t care about a person’s feelings as long as you win the day.

However, I know that’s not who you are. If we steal the heart out of you, like Te Fiti in Moana, you can seem to be that raging force of a lava-spewing argument volcano. But that’s not an accurate representation of you. Like Te Fiti, you’re a life-giver. You are a truth-teller, a means towards understanding human flourishing. You make stories come alive. You walk alongside the truth of the Gospel, in support of all that Jesus has done for us. You are a disciple of the Master. You are one part of a flourishing human life.

It seems to be that the problem lies within us, with people. How we utilize you is the issue at hand. If we use you out of selfishness, then you appear to be something you are not. You can appear to be a means of oppression or instrument of control…a weapon. Your dearest friend, the Gospel, encounters the same problem with us humans. Sometimes, we even start out our relationship with you for non-selfish reasons: searching for truth, love, forgiveness, and redemption. Yet, all too frequently, we begin to fall back into our old vices. We begin to allow selfishness and pride to subtly sneak into our conversations with others. We forget to love God’s beautiful creation and would rather have something to buttress our own views and emotions…and in doing so we rip your heart out…the heart that is the Gospel, the self-sacrificing love of Christ.

So, today, I want to show you that I don’t place the blame on you, apologetics. You are an instrument that God has given us as one means of loving our neighbor as ourselves, or to do good to those who don’t necessarily do good to us. We are the ones that choose how we will utilize you. We are the ones with the fallen nature who so often abuse our good gifts. My apologies, apologetics, for not using you in a spirit of truth and love.