Say It!
“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so” (Psalm 107:2).
Okay! We who know the forgiveness and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ are supposed to say that it is so. So, why don’t we? Or, better said, why is it such an infrequent thing for many believers to openly say they are followers of Christ?
We don’t seem hesitant to tell people what sports teams we support. We don’t seem to be shy about our political views. And people in the world are usually not backward at all about expressing their beliefs twisted as they may be. So why is it so hard for us to talk about Jesus?
It seems that many Christians see witnessing as this enormously difficult task. They equate it with preparing a sermon or giving a lesson and don’t feel adequate to do either.
Many think of witnessing for Christ and consider it such an important task (which it is) they begin to think they’ll do it wrong and end up hurting more than helping. “Botched witnessing may drive people away from Christ and I just can’t take that risk” they think. While it’s true that some witnessing tactics might indeed drive people away this thinking is still flawed because saying nothing will never bring anyone to Jesus.
What if we began to look at witnessing as simply telling a story. If we know how we came to faith in Christ then we have a story to tell. Witnessing is telling that story. We don’t have to win intellectual arguments when we witness. We don’t have to have exceptional skills of persuasion. All we have to do is tell our story.
If you are a Christ follower then your story is as simple as this: you tell what your life was like before you met Christ; then you tell how you met Christ; then you tell how your life has changed since you met Christ. That’s your story! And every one who has been saved has a story to tell. The religious skeptics in John chapter nine demanded that the blind man explain how he could now see. He told his story. “A man named Jesus made clay, anointed my eyes and told me to go wash in the pool of Siloam and when I did I received sight.” Well, that wasn’t enough for these well educated religious leaders who slandered Jesus as an evil man and said there’s no way this “sinner” could have healed the man. They demanded further clarification. The once blind man simply said, “Whether He’s a sinner or not I do not know but one thing I do know, that I once was blind and now I can see.” Case closed.
The Pharisees were not convinced by the man’s story but neither could they deny it. You see, not everyone you tell your story to is going to believe in the Lord Jesus as Savior. Being a witness doesn’t mean that Jesus holds you responsible for how people respond to you. But He does hold us responsible to be faithful to tell our story.
The fact is there will be some, perhaps many, who will come to faith in Christ as a result of hearing your witness. Others may come to kneel at the foot of His cross later on. The exciting thing is this: there will be people in heaven some day because you were faithful to tell your story.
Let me challenge you to tell your story. God will surely bring about opportunities for you to do so. When you have the strength and the love to tell your story the Holy Spirit of God will be faithful to witness it to the hearts of those who hear it. So, beginning today don’t keep your story to yourself. Say it!
Pastor Dan