Our Witness Must Witness

I’ve shared in previous blogs my challenges with my eyesight and the fact that I’ve worn corrective lenses for over 45 years; in other words when I was in heaven prior to arriving on earth. LOL! In all seriousness, if wearing contact lenses wasn’t enough, I’ve now reached a point in my life where I additionally require readers. Sheltering in place and working from home has forced me to be on camera and look at myself so much more than I’d prefer. Accordingly, I’ve purchased readers online that add a bit more fun to my day of sitting at home. When I received confirmation of the purchase, I noticed something odd. The name of the company is similar to an established brand, but the spelling is slightly different. If one didn’t pay close attention, one would assume that they’d purchased the actual established brand as opposed to the counterfeit. Now, I love my little plagiarized glasses, but this simple mistake compelled me to consider my witness in the earth, and the extent to which we are each individually and collectively responsible for our witness to witness.

As believers, we bear witness of Jesus the Christ. We believe that He is the Son of God who died for our sins, resurrected, ascended to heaven and is returning for us. Yet, if we are unable to translate that reality to the world, we are falling short of the expectation that God has of us in the earth. Further, the manner by which each of us do this may vary, but our witness is ineffective if it does not correlate with how we present ourselves and the truth of who God is and how He has governed our lives and the extent to which we’ve submitted ourselves as living sacrifices – which is our reasonable service (Romans 12:1).

Our witness must be consistent. It is difficult to present ourselves in one manner on one day, only to present a different version of ourselves the next day. I’ve always heard, “when you know better, do better,” and in response to our faith walk, this sentiment is applicable. Our witness has the power to usher people into the presence of the Lord. Our witness has the ability to offer hope in the face of despair. Our witness has the propensity to extend a rope when someone is hanging on by a thread. Now is the not the time to enroll in the “just do you” ministry while concurrently serving on the “I give myself away” ministry. We are compelled in Joshua 24:15, “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” I am not suggesting that we stumble not, but instead that we operate through transparency, coupled with vulnerability. Ask yourself, are you presenting a counterfeited Jesus or the Anointed One by the manner in the vessel that is orchestrating the presentation?

God grants us forgiveness and to be sure, as believers, we are at different points on continuum. But, we have witnessed folx dying over this past year, like never before in our lifetime. And if we believe that we must accept Christ, it is therefore imperative upon each of us to do our level best to share Christ with a dying world. Our witness is counterfeit when it storms the Capitol under the guise of God. Our witness is counterfeit when it is disobedient and dismissive to leadership that God has established. Our witness is counterfeit when it acknowledges that “all things come from thee Oh Lord,” all while demonstrating behavior that is unaligned with the Creator of our very beings. Our witness is counterfeit when it fails to recognize that we are sinners saved by grace; and that we have a responsibility to turn away from the deployment of an attitude that is not God inspired, God affirming and Godly motivated. If we are in many ways, the only God that people see, is our witness sensitive and comprehensive and expressive enough? And finally, we must ask ourselves, would God be pleased in our witness? Or are we simply presenting as a knock off brand of who He really is?