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In Christian
circles, the term "witnessing" as commonly used, describes
the activity of communicating the Good News with non-Christians.
But the core meaning of "witness" deals more with what
a person has seen and knows, than what he says. For example, witnesses
at a wedding are observers who vouch in writing for what they
have witnessed. The same is true of the witnesses in the courtroom.
They are witnesses to actions and events. As such they are subsequently
called to give testimony from that experience.
Through Isaiah, God calls us back toward the heart and the foundational meaning of what it means for us to be his witnesses. The information we put out to others about God is not what makes us his witnesses. Communication of what has been witnessed is secondary. To be a witness according to Isaiah, is primarily to be persons in relationship with God, knowing, trusting, and growing in understanding him. First we personally witness his presence and work in our lives. We meet him initially through faith in Jesus. We continue to experience him revealing himself to us through his Word, prayer, worship, fellowship, and daily walking in obedience. Having witnessed his presence and work in our lives in these ways, we are prepared to give testimony about him to others.
This is not at all to minimize the role of communicating with others or the value of improving our spiritual communication skills. It is simply to maximize the role that our relationship with God plays in equipping us to attest to the reality of the unseen God out of the substance of firsthand knowledge and experience. Once more, what makes us God's witnesses is not our "witnessing" to others, but our experience and knowing him firsthand.
With that in mind, I trust that this will be
a memorable year for each of us personally, for our families,
and in the life of the Evangel church family, of being witnesses
of God's living presence and work in us and among us - so that
we can be distinctly identified as his witnesses before our watching
world. His witnesses. That is what we are. That is who we are.
That is why we are here.
-- Steve Wilson, Pastor