An Authentic Witness

CONSIDER THIS

There’s a story about a woman who pulls up to a red light behind another car — a car whose driver just sits there long after the light turns green. The woman incessantly honks on her horn, gesturing wildly, yelling and cursing. The man finally notices and casually drives through the intersection as the light turns red. The woman is furious as she awaits another green light, continuing to rant and rage. And then she hears a tap on her window.

Long story short, the police cart her off to the station. After hours of sitting in a cell, she is released and told, “There’s been a misunderstanding. You see, we witnessed your outrage, the screaming and cursing and honking — and then noticed the “Choose Life” license plate holder, the “Honk if you love Jesus” bumper sticker and the chrome Christian fish symbol on your trunk. Naturally, we assumed that you had stolen the car. But we were wrong. Have a blessed day.”

Obviously her Christian witness went terribly awry, at least on that day. 

Yes, we need to stand up and proclaim the Truth. More importantly, we need to live the Truth boldly every moment. We’ve got to live it with genuine conviction, to live it like we mean it.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about all sorts of ways we are called to live as authentic and effective witnesses. Things like having Christ-centered motives and living with integrity and standing strong. All so we can reach out and touch people and make a difference in their lives. All for the glory of God. (Read it for yourself: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12)

Simply put, let’s live so that others will want to know our Savior.