Are you a good witness? Do you observe what is going on around you? Can you relate it accurately? Do you only see what you want to see? Is your recounting of what happened skewed by your personal preferences?
We see many, many things happen each and every day. We hear and participate in many conversations each day. When we think about it, we are witnesses of everything we do each day. Yet, we often aren’t very good are recounting what we witness each day.
Science and research of our brains will inform us that it isn’t that our brain doesn’t record everything. It’s more about us recalling what our brain recorded based on our personal perspective. If we stop to think about it objectively, we can quickly see the truth in it. After all, even if we realize something was our fault, we often will point to something or someone else who was a cause, perhaps going back years.
We all know, when the police interview witnesses, they will get different perspectives. This requires them to piece together what really happened by sifting through the witness accounts carefully. Each person saw what happened and filtered it based on their own point of view.
Our experiences over the course of our lives influence our perspective. As we interact with our world and other people, we gain an understanding of how things work and general actions or reactions of others. We come to expect certain results based on what is going on.
The apostles also had many human experiences. They had expectations. Yet, their experience with Jesus completely changed their lives. As they witnessed about Jesus, they had personal experience walking with Him for three years. They knew, without a doubt, who He was.
We, too, can experience Jesus in our lives. In fact, God works in our lives far more often than we realize. We simply allow what we’ve been taught about how the world works to overrule and explain away God’s actions. We fail to see God working due to our human blindness.
If we will open our eyes and recognize God working in our lives, we will not be able to deny His works. We will be just like the apostles when it comes to witnessing about God. When we experience God, we are amazed, and our excitement cannot be contained.
I pray we all open our eyes. I pray we see how God is working in our lives. I pray each of us will witness to others what God is doing in our lives. Look objectively at what is going on around you. Recognize God working. Tell others how God is working in your life. Be a witness for God.
Acts 4:18-20 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Marty Pressey 