Monday-Witness

Chet Gladkowski
May 4
4 min read

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed:

1 Peter 5:1[1]

The last time I had to testify in court was very interesting. I saw a dog attack my neighbor and told my story to an officer. I did my duty and truthfully retold what I had seen and heard. I also shared a picture from my phone. I thought that was it. I thought I was done. No such luck.

Months later someone appears at my doorstep. Showing their badge and other official identification, they ask if I’m Chester W. Gladkowski, Jr. Well, with a name like that, there’s no sense trying to deny it. They handed me an official looking envelope and told me that I’m being served to testify in court.

After another couple of months, I arrived in court. I was sworn in and asked questions about what I saw. Trying my best, I explain what I saw and heard. Some additional questions were asked, and I did my best to answer them. With the thanks of the court, I was told that I could leave.

I tell you this story because it shows the two sides of being a witness. Yes, if you see something, you’re a witness to it. But if you never tell anyone, then you’ve missed out on the best part of being a witness. The part that matters most.

And that part is telling. To be a real witness, we’ve got to be willing to share what we’ve seen. What we’ve heard. What we’ve experienced. How things were one way and now are another.

These two sides of being a witness are also very personal. You can’t tell what someone else saw and heard. That’s their story to tell. We can only be a witness to our personal experiences. What our eyes saw. What our ears heard. What our hands touched. What we smelled.

When Peter tells his fellow elders and leaders that they are witnesses, it’s so much more than just what they’ve experienced. They were so changed by Jesus that they had to tell everyone else. This meant not just retelling the life of Jesus to other Christians, but to telling people who’d never heard about Jesus before.

Now this might just sound pretty peaceful and easy. But it was anything like that. All other religions say that we’ve got to do everything to earn our way back to God. There’re these long lists of things we have to do. Prayers we have to say over and over just to get God’s attention. Things to buy so God will like us.

But Christianity is way on the other side of the religious universe. Jesus says that he is totally and completely equal with God[2]. He alone is the way back to God[3]. And that his one-time sacrifice takes care of all sins. Past. Preset. And future[4]. He also claims to bring us direct access to God so that we can call him “daddy[5].”

We might have a tough time understanding just how radical these claims are. But in those days, they were fighin’ words. People didn’t just sit back and say, “Isn’t that interesting what those strange people who call themselves Christians believe.” Not on your life. They sometimes got so angry that they gnashed their teeth and covered their ears before stoning them[6].

Now, we live in a time when people don’t take you outside and stone you for what you say. For what you believe. You can say just about anything you want to say. You can believe anything and feel pretty safe. And I’m really glad for that.

So, why are so many Christians so afraid to be a witness for Jesus? It doesn’t take years of study or anything like that. Being a witness is being willing to share what you’ve seen. What you’ve experienced.

Think about it like this. Have you ever told someone how you’ve felt? About your emotions? The funny thing is that no one will argue with you about how you felt. They won’t say, “Come on now. You didn’t really feel like that. Did you?” So, why are we so scared to say “I was blind but now I see[7].”

It’s time for us to ask forgiveness for our past failures when we’ve been an unfaithful witness about what Jesus has done in our lives. If we believe that he died on the cross and refused to come down until all our sins were paid for[8], what does our fear about being a witness for him to the people around us? I’ll tell you what it says. Our failure to be a witness for Jesus is a reason to ask questions about what we exactly we believe about him. We talk about our spouse, children, and grandchildren. We’ll go on and on about our careers and accomplishments. We’ll bore anyone and everyone about our favorite sports team. There is no such thing as a silent witness. It’s time to speak up.

Noodling Questions