witnessNword

Your Witness & Your Word
by Gini Kittle

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” — 1 Peter 3:15

The other day, as I was listening to the Christian radio station, I heard the speaker declare, “Your life is the strongest message you’ll ever preach.” It is certainly true that our lives declare a testimony to others of what we really believe. The unfortunate truth is that the lives of too many believers repulse rather than draw in the lost. For example, a woman working at a local restaurant told my husband she was frustrated because her work schedule had changed and she was going to be working on Sunday afternoons. When asked why that was such a bad thing, she replied “No one wants to work Sunday afternoon because we get so many ‘church people’ in and they’re the worst — very demanding and terrible tippers.’” How sad that the story told by these “Christians’” lives was they were hard to make happy and cheap. Our lives tell a story … and it’s important they testify that we have been touched and changed by the God we declare and because of that we can have joy, hope, and love no matter what comes our way.

Yes, the witness of our lives is important, but it, in and of itself, is not enough. We need to give our testimony that it is the Lord who has changed our lives. If you and I live the kindest, sweetest lives in full view of others, they may simply think we are just really good people. Those who notice that our lives are different — whether it’s being kinder and more caring when rubbed the wrong way or remaining steadfast and hopeful when things have gone wrong — need to know it is not merely our good nature but that God has transformed our lives. So, we need what we do to show the world that our lives are changed, but we also need to testify to the fact that they are transformed because of the Lord. After all, the Word of God tells us we win the victory “by the word of [our] testimony” (Revelation 12:11).