The word “testimony” we hear often. It is used when one is in a court of law. Witnesses will give a testimony to the facts as they know it. For those who have been around the Christian faith, we have heard this word used often when someone is asked to give their testimony.
Because the word is used in many different ways, and often times I believe used in a way that is not necessarily correct, I decided to look up the word in Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary. What I discovered is that to understand the definition of the word testimony one must first understand the word “testify” .
The dictionary defines the word testify as: “to make a statement based on personal knowledge or belief: bear witness: to serve as evidence or proof: to express a personal conviction: to make a solemn declaration under oath for the purpose of establishing a fact (as in a court of law): to serve as evidence of: prove: to make known…” What caused my interest in trying to understand the meaning of the word testimony arises from my Christian heritage and background. I have often been asked to give my “testimony” as well as having asked many people to “share their testimony” in church or to a group of people somewhere.
Through my sixty-plus years as a Christian, having heard numerous Christian testimonies and having given one of my own too many times to count, I have noticed a couple of troubling trends.
The first one is that most people don’t want to hear a good testimony. They want to hear a bad one. The worse a person was and then gets saved, the better the testimony. That is the testimony that most people want to hear. People who were not bad, like the person who grew up in church and was never in trouble with the law, no one wants to hear theirs.
As I listened to people’s testimony, I realized that often they went something like this: thirty minutes of dirt, grim, evil and pure meanness and then “I met Jesus and now my life is changed. Thank you.”
The second troubling trend is the testimony of the one who says “God saved me” and then begins to expound upon his personal success. We hear about the numerous degrees and honors that have been bestowed upon him and let’s not forget the great wealth and material holdings that one now has amassed during this time.
After hearing this I felt like I was a complete failure and I question my salvation experience because I did not have the degrees, honors and wealth.
The truth is something is wrong with this picture. When the personal dirt and smut or the personal glitz and fame get more time than Jesus then we have totally missed what a “Christian” testimony is.
I want to pose to you this question. What is the best Christian testimony? As I pondered this question, I decided to look to the Bible and in particular the Apostle Paul. I was drawn to II Timothy 4:6-7 “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, and I have kept the faith…” If there ever was a man who could have talked about how bad he had been it was Paul, killing and persecuting Christians in an attempt to completely destroy the church. But he didn’t.
If there ever was a man who could have boasted of his accomplishments it was Paul, the numerous church plants all throughout the region and the letters he wrote. But he didn’t.
When it came down to it he simply said “I am ready…” The truth is there is no greater Christian testimony than to be able to say “I am ready…” The pressing question is: What is your Christian testimony?
