Biblical Witnessing

I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to "witness" to people in a biblical sense. I've heard the term thrown around a lot amongst the church, and unfortunately I find it to be mostly a christian buzz word. I'd put it right up there with "righteousness" as one of the more common terms used without much thought. Let's take a look at a passage from Isaiah.

⁸ Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,
who have ears but are deaf.
⁹ All the nations gather together
and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold this
and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
¹⁰ “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.
¹¹ I, even I, am the LORD,
and apart from me there is no savior.
¹² I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.
¹³ Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?”

So God is trying to win everyone over, right? God's got this amazing book and this long history of amazing things he's done, and he knows he can back his word up. He's calling out idol worshipers from other lands to see who else out there has been able to do what he's done. Whenever they show up, he's going to put us out there against them. In the proverbial case for God, we are the witnesses he calls to the stand. We are the expert opinions, the eyewitnesses, and the character witnesses to prove God's glory. God does not need us to be all powerful, but he does use us to prove his point. When we're called to the stand of life to prove what God has done (which should be every day) we have to be confident in our testimony (there's another Christian buzz word I can clear up here) so that we can help God win the case. I never used to think of words like "testimony," and "witness" in a court sense, but that's intended imagery right there. God wants us to remember that we, in the way we live our lives, are making a case for God. The more we live our lives like we don't care, aren't confident in the word, or are too insecure to speak, the weaker of a case we make for God. Conversely, the more confident we are in God's work and the more prepared we are against cross examination, the more water our testimony will hold in the court of Earth.

Live your life as a worthy testimony. God has chosen you to prove his point, and he's not going to put you on the stand unprepared. Trust in him, seek his council, and you'll be more than prepared to play your role in his case.