One of the comedy movies out for this summer is Madea’s WITNESS PROTECTION. The story line of the movie is based on a banker who is on the run for his life trying to hide from the mob. The safest place for him and his family is living under cover at Madea’s house. The character George Needleman knows too much and what he knows is so valuable that it has to be PROTECTED. The only way to PROTECT the information is to PROTECT him. Who better to do so than Madea. In her own way not only does she offer WITNESS PROTECTION to the entire family but in the end she helps them to also understand more clearly the value of family. The challenge for us today is to consider that we must do whatever it takes to PROTECT OUR WITNESS. That’s our FF for today PROTECT OUR WITNESS!
Once we’ve encountered the living Christ and have come to faith in him we become WITNESSES. We now have a testimony! We become WITNESSES to the power of the resurrected Christ working in OUR lives. As WITNESSES we have a faith story to tell. The value of OUR WITNESS is two-fold. A WITNESS is important because of what he/she knows. A WITNESS to a crime can offer empirical evidence simply because he/she can testify about what actually happened. A WITNESS’ knowledge is not based upon hear say. Neither is it based upon second hand information. It is a knowledge that is grounded in a personal experience which no one can make invalid. It’s not a dream or fiction. It’s a reality! So once we’ve received the gift of salvation we immediately become a WITNESS of the Gospel of Christ. And because our lives demonstrate such power then we have a duty to PROTECT OUR WITNESS.
Because of all that we now know then as WITNESSES we are driven to eventually speak about what we know. The words which a WITNESS speaks are more likely to be received because they carry more weight. Ultimately what a WITNESS says can bring clarity to someone who is doubtful. But for the Christian believer, it is not just what we speak with OUR mouth that adds value to our WITNESS. What we speak through the actions of OUR lives carries as much weight as what we say through OUR mouths. Actions speak as loudly as words! So to PROTECT OUR WITNESS is a call for us not only to carefully watch what we say but also to be just as careful about how we live. OUR speech is as important as our deed. So in PROTECTING OUR WITNESS we are in essence guarding both lip and life.
There’s a lot at stake! Failure to PROTECT OUR WITNESS means that we run the risk of taking very lightly OUR Christian discipleship. Failure to PROTECT OUR WITNESS means that we can treat the power of the Gospel very casually and as a result cheapen God’s grace. We fail to PROTECT OUR WITNESS if as believers we continue to live in sin not willing to confess the same and repent. Eventually un-confessed hidden sins become exposed and can potentially ruin OUR WITNESS. When they do the power of a Christian’s WITNESS is compromised. Yet God can use such moments to also demonstrate God’s grace. But even then a damaged WITNESS takes such a long time to regain his/her credibility. Prevention is still better than cure! And so it is easier to do all that we can through the work of the Holy Spirit to PROTECT OUR WITNESS. It is so much more difficult to try and recover when OUR Christian WITNESS has been compromised.
It might be helpful if we see OUR WITNESS as a priceless treasure. But the irony is that this valuable treasure is housed in a perishable vessel that is prone to sin against God. So to PROTECT OUR WITNESS requires more than merely good intentions. It calls for nothing less than the power of God to saturate OUR lives if we are to PROTECT OUR WITNESS. After all, “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that OUR great power is from God, not from ourselves.” (2 Cor. 4:7) So let’s pray to God to help us PROTECT OUR WITNESS. After all, the world still needs to have credible WITNESSES to the saving power of the Gospel of Christ.
Mikie Roberts (Rev)
Here’s the link for the blog. Join in the discussions.
http://moravians.net/serendipity/index.php?/categories/1-Friday-Focus
