Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent - March 22, 2012
John 5:31 - 37
“If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid. But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true. In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true. Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved. John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message. But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me. And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself."
As I allowed myself into this passage, I was struck by the idea of giving testimony to who Jesus is.
In the tradition of my roots, giving a testimony was common practice. Even before my life as a "preacher," I gave my share of testimonies in worship and revival settings. Usually, the testimonies had something to do with some special or uncommon happening, and always the point of the testimony was to name God as the Author of the unique occurrence.
Often the testimony recounted the details of a life gone awry -- and in that tradition, sometimes the more tawdry the story, the better it was deemed to be -- and then how God had miraculously rescued the person from sin and waywardness. Such testimonies were powerful tools, speaking very directly of the power of God to intervene in a person's life.
As I considered my own testimony to Jesus, I thought of how my story has changed through the years. Early on, I said things about God and my life without the benefit of experience. I did, however, speak with a lot of assurance. In those days I thought I knew much more than I knew. I claimed language, designs, and intention for God that probably didn't come from God. I spoke according to what I had learned in my tradition, and what I thought God wanted.
"God told me this . . ."
"God said to do that . . ."
Was that wrong? Was my testimony misguided? Did I offer false testimony? No . . . I spoke the truth to the extent I knew it and had experienced it in those days. At the time, it was true for me.
But I experience God differently now. My testimony today is much different. Today I would say some very different things about God and about who I am in God.
And it is highly likely that if I'm alive in five years . . . and in ten years . . . I'll look back on these current days, and shake my head at my current testimony. I'll have something different to say about God and Jesus and my life then.
I think that's the way it's supposed to be.
For today . . . think about a previous time in your life -- perhaps adolescence -- and the testimony you would have given about Jesus at that time in life. Then, consider what your testimony would be today. How are the two testimonies different for you? It is important that you do this exercise without judging either time in your life. One is not good/right and the other bad/wrong. They simply reflect a spiritual pilgrimage at two very different points in time.
“If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid. But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true. In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true. Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved. John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message. But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me. And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself."
As I allowed myself into this passage, I was struck by the idea of giving testimony to who Jesus is.
In the tradition of my roots, giving a testimony was common practice. Even before my life as a "preacher," I gave my share of testimonies in worship and revival settings. Usually, the testimonies had something to do with some special or uncommon happening, and always the point of the testimony was to name God as the Author of the unique occurrence.
Often the testimony recounted the details of a life gone awry -- and in that tradition, sometimes the more tawdry the story, the better it was deemed to be -- and then how God had miraculously rescued the person from sin and waywardness. Such testimonies were powerful tools, speaking very directly of the power of God to intervene in a person's life.
As I considered my own testimony to Jesus, I thought of how my story has changed through the years. Early on, I said things about God and my life without the benefit of experience. I did, however, speak with a lot of assurance. In those days I thought I knew much more than I knew. I claimed language, designs, and intention for God that probably didn't come from God. I spoke according to what I had learned in my tradition, and what I thought God wanted.
"God told me this . . ."
"God said to do that . . ."
Was that wrong? Was my testimony misguided? Did I offer false testimony? No . . . I spoke the truth to the extent I knew it and had experienced it in those days. At the time, it was true for me.
But I experience God differently now. My testimony today is much different. Today I would say some very different things about God and about who I am in God.
And it is highly likely that if I'm alive in five years . . . and in ten years . . . I'll look back on these current days, and shake my head at my current testimony. I'll have something different to say about God and Jesus and my life then.
I think that's the way it's supposed to be.
For today . . . think about a previous time in your life -- perhaps adolescence -- and the testimony you would have given about Jesus at that time in life. Then, consider what your testimony would be today. How are the two testimonies different for you? It is important that you do this exercise without judging either time in your life. One is not good/right and the other bad/wrong. They simply reflect a spiritual pilgrimage at two very different points in time.
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