Witnessing

I think it's very interesting how Buechner makes the point that the Gospel isn't good news until we understand how much we need the message of the Gospel is our lives. This is similar to what I learned about witnessing this last summer—as Christian witnesses, we must first remember that our primary goal is to share our testimony. Others want and need to see the impact Jesus has made for us before they can understand the role He can play in their lives.

I truly appreciated the discussion we had in class last Thursday about how the word "witness" too often misrepresents the action Christians believe is synonymous to "sharing our faith with others." As a witness, we can never interpret what we observed, we can only share what we observed. At this point, others are much more likely to agree with the factual observations before they begin discussing what they mean.

The Bible is clear about the importance of witnessing, but we as Christians also need to keep in mind that there are multiple ways to share our faith. Buechner points out how Jesus revealed a message by simply mourning for his friend Lazarus. Similarly, I believe it's very important to be a witness in more than what we say, because everyone can agree that actions speak much louder than words.