We Are All Witnesses

No I’m not talking about Lebron James. I think there’s been plenty written about him already, don’t you? I’m talking about being a Christian. And being a Christian means “We are all witnesses” to Jesus’ life and ministry.

I’ve often heard it said that, as Christians, “We are not commended to witness but to be a witness.” Really? Didn’t Jesus command, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:19-20) and that making disciples involves witnessing (sharing the gospel) with people?

St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the gospel. And if necessary use words.” I can appreciate the phrase and it’s emphasis on having Christian character. But if we end with simply having good character, then that’s not the whole gospel. Besides, St. Francis spent most of his time as the Dr. Dolittle of his age tending to his animals frequently.

It’s like our other champion slogan, “Christianity isn’t a religion but a relationship.” But didn’t Jesus do religious things like pray regularly and attend the synagogue weekly? I’m not saying Christianity is not a relationship with your Creator. It’s just both a relationship and a religion. In the same way that we are not simply to be witnesses but we are also to witness.

So we can emphasize the importance of personal character, which is a must, but we can also overemphasize it to the point that we never say anything about God in fear of not “being a good witness” because we feel we’re not perfect. This mentality is doomed for failure, much like “Country Strong" coming out this weekend. Jesus picked imperfect people to disciple and sent out imperfect people to make disciples. I think it’s okay if we’re not perfect.

For example, the other night I was playing basketball at the local gym like I have for several years now. I’ve been able to build pretty good relationships with non-believers throughout that time. It was my only access to non-believers during my Biola days.

Ray is one of the guys I have met at the gym. Ray is one of the best players I’ve played against. He’s a beast and one of the toughest guys to guard because of his strength and speed. We battle all the time and it’s fun. We text each other throughout the week making sure we’ll be at the gym. People there know I’m a Christian, and that I went to Biola University. No, my conduct on the basketball court may not show proper Christian character all the time but I’m working on it (it’s the Kobe-edge-cut-throat mentality). Interestingly, Ray “randomly” (I have randomly in quotes because it’s never random) broached the subject of God after we were finished playing one night. Everyone had left and we were just talking about life. He brought up the fact that he became a Christian as a teenager but still made mistakes along the way (join the club) but his church condemned him for the mistakes instead of encouraging him and pointing him in the right direction. He was a young man trying to find his way and willing to repent. The church he was attending, however, didn’t offer him much in the way of grace. He became bitter and eventually walked away from the Lord. Recently, however, he’s been having bad dreams, frightening dreams that have forced this rigid tough guy to his knees in prayer.

I told him that God is after his heart. He said, “I think demons are after me.” I replied, “God allows that sometimes for the greater good. In this case, the greater good is you coming back into the fold. You need to find a Bible-teaching church with good leadership. Forget about those bad experiences in the past. It’s time for a new beginning and God will give that to you in a moment if you’re willing to receive it.” As Ray stood for a second in silent contemplation, he nodded his head in agreement and said, “Yeah, I think I am.” I asked if I could pray for him on the spot. He said, “I would like that.” So a couple of guys who have battled throughout the years in countless basketball games in a public gym decided to pray. Yes, we are all witnesses.