Our Testimony to Jesus

"With my mouth I will give thanks to the Lord;

I will praise him in the midst of the throng.

For he stands at the right hand of the needy one."

Ps. 109: 30-31

I have probably heard at least 1000 times the following statements made by a believer in Christ,

"I do not feel comfortable telling people about what I believe.  

I prefer to let my life witness for me."

Have you ever heard this excuse/reasoning?  Have you ever given it?  I am sure that all of us have.  These statements and the feelings behind them have been making the rounds in Christian circles since the time of Jesus.  Let's take a fresh look at this often accepted thought.

On the face of it, I completely agree.  If our life does not match our witness, then we are by definition a hypocrite.  Our life should be a witness.

Yet, to what are we witnessing?  

Let me lay out two different statements.

My life should reflect good Christian morality.  

My life should reflect my relationship with Christ.

While I think these two statements should equate, I do not think they mean the same thing.  I believe that by making them the same, we have made witnessing about Jesus something to which almost no believer feels comfortable.

Why?  The problem comes with thinking my morality has anything positive to do with witnessing for Jesus.

What about when I wake up on the wrong side of the bed and I snap at my family, my co-worker, or myself?  What about the awful muttering that I do under my breath?  What about my struggles with my "hidden hangups and sins"?  How can I witness to truth when my life is not really right?

I believe almost all of us feel these tensions.  We know we do not have it all together.  We have so many struggles.  Witnessing must be for people who have their life together better than we do.

Such thinking destroys our desire to witness for Jesus.

There is another issue with equating the above two statements.  What if I do live "good Christian morality'?  (However I define it)  My guess is that my co-workers, family, and friends will think that I am a great guy.  They will think that I really have it all together.  They will think that I am dependable, solid, loving, ... you fill in the blank to what you think you should witness to.

Here's the rub.  Where is Jesus to these people in which I am witnessing?  They like me, but why would I assume they will make the connection that Jesus is the one who made me this way?  If I am honest, which I rarely am, I am witnessing more to my morality, my uprightness, my way of life.  

Furthermore, with this sort of thinking, I am now caught in the trap of reputation.  I have to work harder and harder to keep my "goodness" public.  I strive to maintain my reputation before others.

I don't know about you, but I know my secrets.  I know my struggles with living my faith.  I know those inner thoughts and that I don't always wake up on the right side of the bed.

In short, maintaining my reputation only proves I am a hypocrite.

What can be done about this?  To what should we witness?

How about cutting through the hypocrisy of witnessing to and through my great (or not so great) morality?  How about not fearing our shortcomings because we witness to the only perfect man in history?

I have found our most effective witness comes by confessing and telling others how much I need Jesus and how much grace He gives me daily.  

Something wonderful happens when I bring up the name of Jesus.  When I confess my need for Him and how He is my only hope, the Holy Spirit shows up to confirm what I am saying.  I have also found that when I confess my weakness, people listen to me because they have the same issues and problems. Somehow the Holy Spirit works through the confession of Jesus as our only hope to bring Him all the glory.

In other words, without mentioning Jesus we are not really witnessing about Jesus.  

Pointing to Jesus as your only hope and your present savior 

brings the power of the Holy Spirit into play.  

Our life should reflect our relationship to Jesus.  Does yours illustrate your dependence upon Him?  If it does, you have all it takes to be an effective and powerful witness to the gospel!