Walking on the Stand
theDING would like to apologize both for the lack of blogging as of late and the confusion that the previous entry may have caused to the reading audience that have come to expect a certain quality of work. However, I will move forward, undaunted by the mediocrity of the previous effort (my opinion, not that of others) and update again. Hopefully, content will be made available here on a more frequent basis in the near future. Now, to carry through on a promise made to my local reading audience, here is my new post.Over the last while, I have been going through transition and quite frankly, have been finding it to be a rather difficult time, yet one that has been full of growth and self-discovery. Even though it can be irritating to go through this process, I know that good things will come out of it in the end.
One of the things that I have been doing during this transition time is dedicating more of my thought processes and time with God to meditationa nd contemplation. I have found it to be a very peaceful way of getting in touch with God and having Him teach me, no matter where I am.
One of the subjects that I have been pondering lately is that of the Christian as a witness. Throughout the Bible, we are calle dto be witnesses for Christ and teven going back as far as Abraham, we see people who are blessed by God and were willing to be a witness for Him to the inhabitants of this world which was created by God and has since fallen into sin.
Now, some of you out there are probably cringing at the porspect that I might whip out some amazing, "fail-proof" plan for wintessing to your neighbors and family so that the whole world will be saved within the next year and that being done, we can finally start the process of living in all of eternity instead of being "stuck" on "this boring, imperfect planet".
But have no fear, I am not going to talk about the topic of evangelism, nor am I going to expound on my current topic in what I precieve to be an exhaustive treatise on the subject, but to share some of my ponderings in hopes that I might make you think.
Musing #1: A witness has to have experienced something in order to be a witness in the first place.
Now, this may seem ridiculously obvious, but the fact that a witness has to have expereinecd something (whether through one of our five senses or in the metaphysical sense), this is an extremely foundational bit of fact. It is impossible for someone to give an accurate account on a person that they have not seen, talked to or smelled or, well...you get the idea, as a complete and total stranger.
In the same way, we as Christians need to have experienced Christ at some point. These experiences come in all shapes, sizes and magnitudes, but without a personal experience, the best you can do in your witness is depending on second-hand inoformation. It is about as good as videotaping a TV show by pointing a video camera at the screen; the content may be there on the recording, but the picture will be shaky and at some points be out of focus.
Musing #2: The actions of a witness will be affected by their experience, either for the short term or long.
Whenever we experience something through any of our senses, there will almost always be an instant response and responses to the event that build up over the long term, even if they are only in our subconscious. For example, a person that witnesses a car accident and its aftermath may initially recoil in horror and over the long term make efforts to ensure that everyone in their vehicle is wearing a seatbelt, lest anyone become badly injured.
Similarily, we as Christians will be affected in many ways by the moment (and process) of salvation that we will never be able to comprehend because there is no way of turning back the clock and changing a particular choice in life (despite what The Butterfly Effect may tell us). Any other experiences that we have with our Savior after salvation will affect us as well, changing our view of the world and the decisions that we make.
Musing #3: A witness has a choice regarding whether or not they want to tell anyone about their experience.
When a person witnesses a crime and they have some connection to the offender (whether it be socially or familial), they may choose not to testify against them in court for fear of retribution (whether or not the person is actually convicted). This can make convicting a suspect very difficult, but not completely impossible, as the police investigators and the prosecuting attorney often have more than just the eyewitness evidence at their disposal with which to close their case.
Christians have a similar choice to make when they are called on by Christ to testify about him in either word or deed in the court of public opinion or even the land of everyday life. Seeing that we are all human, there is definitely a social (and familial, if you want to go that far back...) connection to those that may observe or hear our witness. We may fear persecution, whether real or imagined, a loss of dignity or any number of other things that can cause us to fear our fellow human beings. Whatever the reason, people that are Christians have the option to ignore the teachings of Christ and their conscience (although some would argue that they were not Christians in the first place) and choose not to testify in any given situation.
These three musings bring me to the main question that I am still pondering, one that is brought up as each new life situation presents itself. I wonder what it means to be a witness in every situation of life. I wonder how I should approach others and how I should act in the myriad of split-second circumstances that I find myself in with each new day. I find myself reflecting on my actions and determining that there are (and always will be) situations in which, as a witness of Christ's actions in this world and in my life, can testify to others.
I am just glad that the Holy Spirit is always there to help.
But that's a musing for another day...
I hope that these musings have made you think and I am aware that all my examples break down at some point and that there are better ones that I would/could have chosen, but I am aiming to make people think about being a witness and testifying and if I have done that, then I consider this post worth my time.
posted by theDING @ 23:28
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