I Hope You are a Witness

"I think a man's religion is personal, so we shouldn't discuss it."

"I don't like people who are fanatical about their religion. They try to force their views on everyone."

"I'm happy with my own way of life."

What Christian hasn't heard unbelievers making excuses like this? Maybe you even made a few yourself before you were saved. But, unfortunately for those of us who fear people's judgmental glances and uncomfortable words, these excuses are exactly that: excuses. They aren't a good reason to shy away from verbally witnessing to the people around you. Jesus directly gave us the command to tell others His story when he issued the Great Commission: "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:15-16). One of the most important ways we can share hope with this world is to witness. We have the hope, the only hope, for this world, and we have to get the word out about it. There is no better way to bring hope to this weary world than to share the love of Jesus with the hopeless.

"But," says the taciturn, perhaps fearful, one, "I witness by my life! When the people around me see me loving them and being kind and showing other fruits of the Spirit, they will be able to see Jesus in me!"

Well, yes. 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 says “Because the God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is the One who shined in our hearts to illuminate the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us." Jesus' Holy Spirit is in us as believers, and people should notice this. But they don't always. It's easy to confuse a "good" person with a Christian. Christians aren't the only ones with moral codes - we just have a set standard in the Bible, and others get theirs from who-knows-where. They make it up, sometimes, based on conscience and society.


Even if a nonbeliever in your life notices that you are "different" (in a good way), it still doesn't guarantee that they will look into why. They may just assume that you are an extra-nice person, and then they'll move on with their life. Rarely does someone actually come up to you and start the "witnessing" conversation with, "Hey, are you a Christian?" Although that does happen. But because it is so rare, the best thing for a dedicated Christian to do is to seek out opportunities themselves.

Opportunities are not always going to present themselves easily, of course. We're not all pastors, or teachers. How does the stay-at-home mom, the secretary, the sandwich maker, or the lifeguard find opportunities to interact with people for more than a few moments? Seeking these witnessing opportunities is a delicate art which must be practiced, much like acting or painting or taking the SATs. Many moments slip by, unnoticed by the inattentive believer, that could easily have led into an opportunity to share the faith.

For example, once upon a time there was a bagger at a grocery store. Let's call him Sam. Sam is a devout Christian who goes to church every Sunday, reads his Bible and prays the normal amount, but he is relatively quiet and does not like to start conversations with strangers. There is a woman who comes regularly to the grocery store, and usually uses Sam's checkout lane. She sometimes chats with Sam, though he would rather avoid it if he can help it. He assumes that she is not a believer but has never given it much thought. Today, this woman comes in wearing a pretty cross necklace, and she asks Sam if he likes it.

Sam politely says that he thinks it's very pretty and moves on to bagging the next carton of milk.

Did you catch that? Did you see the missed opportunity? What if, instead, it had happened like this:

Today, this woman comes in wearing a cross necklace, and she asks Sam if he likes it. While bagging the next carton of milk, Sam says that he thinks the necklace is very pretty. Then, as he ties the top of the bag, he casually questions, "Are you religious?"


The woman hands Sam a few bills. "Maybe I will."

"Oh, no." She answers, laughing. "I'll believe anything. I just bought the necklace because it was on sale." Then, taking the bag, she asks, "Are you? Religious, I mean?"

He carefully sets her lettuce and bread into the next plastic bag and says, "I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died on the cross to save us, because we are all sinners. If that makes me religious, then yeah, I guess I am."

"Do you go to church?" She asks after a pause.

Sam ties the bag. "Yes, at Lakewood First Baptist on Main Street. You should come, it's very interesting. We have services at 10:00 and 11:00."

The woman hands Sam a few bills and smiles. "Maybe I will."

Sam had an opportunity to plant a seed in that woman's heart, and in the second example, he spotted it right off and was able to accomplish the small task that God had set before him. Practice makes perfect. How did Sam recognize that opportunity? He had watched others capitalize on opportunities before and probably had done it himself. "Just living it" would not have gotten that woman into church that Sunday, because she would not have been able to tell the difference between a friendly bagger and a Christian bagger. Sam didn't force his beliefs on the woman - he simply led the conversation in a direction that would allow him to share them freely.

We as believers need to realize that there is an urgency to telling others about Christ. If we genuinely care for other people, as the Bible says we should, then we should be telling as many people as we possibly can before it's too late. Because it is a matter of life and death, and not just life here on earth. Eternal life...or eternal death and separation from God. "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart." Ecclesiastes (7:2) points out that every man meets the same end - to die - which makes that event a milestone of infinite importance. Once we know what will happen to us after we die, we must turn our eyes to the blind. We lazily think that perhaps tomorrow, or the next day, one of the unbelievers we know will "see the light" and question us about our faith. No. We need to demonstrate a passion for Christ and share our faith when opportunities like this present themselves. Matthew 5:6 says this:  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."  That includes looking for times when sharing our faith would be appropriate and the hearer would be responsive. The hearers are now more important than ourselves. As long as you are clear on the fact that you must witness about Christ after you are saved, and not as a means to get saved, then the Holy Spirit will give you guidance and will help you find the right words to say (John 14:26).

We are commanded by Jesus to witness, no matter how scary it seems to be. Everything in this world will eventually fade away. There is nothing that we can do about that. Jesus will make a new Earth, and what is on this one will be no more. Take courage then in the fact that what is in this world is really superficial. It will not last. People's judgment will not last. But people will - either in ecstasy or torment. That thought is what comforts me when I find myself noting an opportunity and silently debating whether or not to take it. We should always take it. We don't really have an excuse not to. That little tug of fear is the Devil's last defense, his last hope that you won't help another person find God. You might only plant a seed, or you might sit with someone and help them understand how to accept Jesus right then and there. Either way, to Satan, it is a swift kick where it hurts, and that means more hope for this world.

A man's religion is personal. That's why we should discuss it.

We should be fanatical about Jesus, without trying to force our views. We should be respectful and kind, and know when enough is enough for the time being.

We should kindly show people the error of their way of life, doing our best to tell the truth honestly and without excessively hurting them, because that will make them shy away from Christians as a whole.

We must be witnesses. We must be lights. We must be a city on a hill.

Be that stay-at-home mom that shares her faith with her kid's friends' moms at a birthday party.
Be that secretary who reads her Bible at work to make her boss curious about Christianity.
Be that sandwich maker who wears a Christian t-shirt to incite comments.
Be that lifeguard who sings Christian songs to Jesus on shift, no matter how many people she's carefully watching.

 

I hope you realize what an important task has been set before us as Jesus' followers: the task of telling His story and bring His light to this dark world. Go be a light for the God we love!