You will probably know this verse from Acts 1:8 well:
But you will receive power when the spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
I have been thinking about the word “witness” and what it means. At a basic level, we understand that it is one who testifies to what they have seen, heard, experienced or know. A witness is one who gives evidence or proof of something, like a witness in court. They attest to a fact or an event, they aver to what they have seen or heard or experienced in other ways.
I have been thinking about how Jesus was a witness before us. He came as a witness to what he knew, what he had experienced of life with the Father but he also told his disciples in John 14:9 that he himself was a witness to the Father.
Anyone who has seen me, has seen the Father.
He came to show us the Father. Matthew 11:27 tells us that Jesus reveals the Father, he shows him to us, ‘uncovers him’ by letting us see him through his own life.
All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
I believe that the Christian faith is not just about having an intellectual witness, telling people knowledge so that they have an intellectual understanding of what it is we are testifying about but that our witness, like Jesus’, is more experiential. It is a case of “show and tell” – our witness being not just verbal but also something visible. Jesus tells us that he only did what he saw the Father doing so if we look at what Jesus did, it is a witness to what he saw the Father doing.
Jesus’ life shows us that our witness to his presence in our life is to look like something. I would love to be able to say, “When you have seen me, you have seen Jesus”. That sounds crazy doesn’t it? But we are being transformed into his likeness according to 2 Corinthians 3:18. The plan is for us to represent God on earth – to be be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Romans 8 tells us that the world is waiting for that manifestation of the sons of God.
As we go through our day to day lives, we “bear witness” to the spirit at work within in us. Sometimes our lives are a good witness to the fact we are joined as one with Holy Spirit; sometimes our lives are evidence that we are not being led by Holy Spirit in that moment! The fact that we have been filled with his power means that we do have the capacity, the ability, to manifest the Spirit and his fruit at any given moment.
This week I have had a trip abroad for the first time since Covidland became part of our world. I was excited about the possibility of travelling again having spontaneously booked a short flight to see family. As I write this I am sat on the plane back home looking out of the window at glorious blue sky and fluffy white clouds. The flying is smooth and it looks perfect but appearances can be deceptive. The last 24 hours have been a saga of moments where I have had to adjust, make new decisions in the moment, change my plans and be willing to be flexible. This is not the flight, or the day, I was due to come home on. In those moments where things suddenly changed, and generally in the ever-changing landscape we currently find ourselves in, where travel, indeed life, can seem more complex than it was; in the myriad of regulations and paperwork to navigate, I have had choices about how I respond, who I decide to bear witness to in those moments. Galatians 5:22-23 reminds me what being led by the Spirit looks like in those moments:
But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit.
It does not mean that I don’t experience any contrary emotions. In the moment, fear or anxiety, for example, may be a temptation but as I fix my eyes on Jesus, on his promises and the fact that he is with me, working all things for good, (even the things where I have made mistakes or where external circumstances beyond my control are at play) as I ask Holy Spirit to help me, I can choose to respond differently, not allowing my emotions to take control or lead me in a way that is contrary to who Jesus is in me. And so, like Jesus, I can sleep in the turbulence; I can choose loving kindness towards those who are less than loving to me; I can choose patience when things are not going according to plan; I can choose peace over worry and stress; I can choose gratitude and a focus on the blessings available in the moment rather than a focus on loss or inconvenience.
I was reminded of a quote that has been attributed, possibly erroneously, to St Francis of Assisi, “preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words”. It is true, as Paul tells the Corinthian church in his second letter (chapter 3, verse 2), that our lives can be observed by those we come into contact with,
You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.
However, the idea that we get to only be an observable sign of the impact of the gospel, of Jesus Christ in our lives, without saying a word, is clearly nonsense, as 1 Peter 3:15 says we should:
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
This verse about the prophet, John the Baptist in John 1:6-7 expands that thought:
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.
As Christians, we have all been sent by God (Matt 28:18-20) to testify about him, to point people to him so that they too might believe. John was one who bore witness to who Jesus was before he started his ministry. As Revelation 19:10 says
The essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus
Our words have power and what we are declaring and proclaiming matters. So, in these times when the world is in great upheaval, our witness is not just in how we respond and live our lives in the moment. It is also about how we frame what is going on, what we declare about life and the circumstances we are living in. Are our words just declaring the darkness we can see in the here and now, or pointing to the hope that is Jesus? Are we moaning and complaining with everyone else or is our conversation bringing light and life? Let’s show and tell of Jesus!
Jesus is the one who brings order into chaos, light into darkness, hope into seemingly hopeless situations. Our hope is not in governments or money in the bank or a good job or our family. Our hope is in the Unchanging One, the Rock that cannot be moved. Our hope is in the Prince of Peace, the Mighty One who conquered death and the grave, the one who always knows what to do in the moment, the one who will establish justice and righteousness throughout the whole earth.
What a glorious hope!
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