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
8 Comments:
Glad to know your still living, and your entry has done just that; caused me to think about being a witness.
I have experienced the joy of "Witnessing." I lived one of the dreams of my passionate youth when I preached on a street corner in England where John Wesley preached. Only one person heard me. There was no one else there except for the WAT team I was with. The poor guy stumbled out of the pub, looked at the crazy skinny guy shouting from the roundabout marker, then pointed himself in the general direction of home and stumbled away.
My thoughts...
We evidence Christ with our life, but we witness for Christ with our words.
There are lots of nice people out there who live well, or at least appear to have it all together. When watching someone elses life, most people do not think "What is it that they have that I don't, and how can I get that?" They usually think, "Man...I gotta work harder at being better so that I look like them." The pecking order is so ingrained that the grace of God is a mystery to those that are perishing.
We witness when we use words to communicate the story of the cross and the salvation it brings. We confirm that by our love for eachother and the freedom that we live in. Both are important, and we emasculate the message if one of those is missing.
So, here is the 5 step program for garanteed evangelism...Oops. I forgot. That is something we save for fifth year. (I'm Kidding)
Thanks for the post. The idea/lifestyle of witnessing/being a witness has been on my mind lately.
I'll be going against the grain here, but I feel a bit disappointed with this post. Perhaps it is simply the act of putting your brooding into words that results from your degree... but I would expect something deeper from you. If you have been through the classes for a Biblical degree, and all that those years included, and still feel that your "witness" identity in daily living is muggy and uncertain, perhaps you have been focusing too much on the theory over these years rather than practicum. I'd really like to see you bringing the knowledge you have into alignment with your struggles... but something like this really comes across as a struggle you should have had in first year.
I acknowledge that you should take time to reconsider the basics on occasion, but please just recognize that this should be one of the more basic considerations for your walk.
Shawn, I am breaking my writing fast to respond, not to your blog, but rather to the above comment. I know you know what I am talking about.
I don't know this person, but obviously, they are not living any kind of deep meaniful life, because they seem to think that you wrestle through things once, (in first year, lol, has he been to Eston?) and are done. Well, obviously he has never heard of the 2nd year curse and has never been fully committed to walking out his faith in a meaningful and tangible way. Or walking within any kind of challenging and committed community. Harsh, maybe; truth probably.
It is a daily struggle, it is a daily choice. When I get up in the morning I get a choice, am I going to live what I believe or am I going to slide through the day, and more often than I would care to admit, the latter wins.
Anyone who believes that we wrestle through battles once, is only fooling themselves. If that were the case lust, eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, hate, etc would not be issues. We would not need to have any more preaching, we would have all "arrived" and been perfect. Oh, wait that doesn't happen, something about living in a fallen world and being sinners saved by grace.
So struggle on and continue to muse and ask questions, it is when you fail to struggle and fail to ask the questions that make you squirm when you know you have become only a pew-warming-Christian who goes to church because it looks good rather than to be challenged.
Continue to muse Shawn, maybe it will cause people to think about their own lukewarm existence and begin to ask themselves the deep questions that will bring about change. And just maybe that change will become their witness.
cheers
anna
I hate the idea of insults in what I expected to be an open-forum for theological discussion. So, ignoring those aspects above, I will clarify for the sake of my point.
Ding, are you a Christian who wakes up every morning and "prays on the full armor of God," then goes through the Prayer of Jabez, and needs to repeat to yourself over and over again: "Today, I will be a great witness to Christ!"?
Are you a Christian who is so shakable in your faith that you need to go over the same messages preached in the churches to baby-formula Christians again and again without venturing forward?
If you are, then I truly apologize for posting, and will never again involve myself with your blog. If not, please oblige us with an update which speaks further to this.
Thank you Trystan and Anna for the combination of criticism and encouragement. I consider both of you to be very good friends of mine and I encourage you to remember that both of you have a different relationship with me and I encourage you to remember that "Truth is relational." Since this is true, both of you know different things about me and my current situation and therefore, I accept both of your comments as true and valuable to me.
It is very possible that the fact that I have merely put my musings into words has caused you to think that I am weaker in the faith than I really am and I think that the fact that I am in transition between school and a more permanent work environment has something to do with the state that I find myself in.
Anna, thank you for making an attempt at coming to my aid, but please keep your comments to what you truly know about people; I'd like to keep this blog as a place where people can express their opinions freely. I will take up your charge to become a Christian that is willing to challenge his own presuppositions and to keep exploring my faith so that I don't become a "pew-warming Christian". I appreciate the encouragement.
Trystan, I know that I have come along way from when we first met in FGBC. I know longer ascribe to the mantra-like "Prayer of Jabez" and "praying on the armor of God" is still something that I find myself having to deal with when I talk with other Christians that I know. It wasn't necessarily the theory or the faith that I was questioning in this post, but how to apply those things to my new situation. This is the first time that I have been involved with day in-day out employment and although living Christianly has become easier as the time goes on, some of the nuances need to be realized with every new situation. I hope that this clarifies things to you and I would welcome any comments or advice that you have for me, as we have been friends and I would ask you to continue supporting and advising me, even when my writing fails to convey what I really mean.
And to everyone that reads my blog, thank you for your input and I hope that you read this for times to come; I will continue to post undaunted. As always, I welcome your comments, questions and advice.
Grace and peace,
theDING
my apologies, I did not mean to be offenses, my manner is just rather abrupt. If anyone was offended, please accept my humble apologies.
anna
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