“God is constantly and continually giving.”
Laura Lane from ‘I Touch the Heavens’
The other day I was thinking about the Christian tradition of bearing testimony or bearing witness.
In my church, we dedicate a Sunday service every month to bearing testimony. I know some people who avoid going that week of the month because they find what others choose to share to be repetitive, boring, preachy and sometimes downright annoying.
I have heard church leaders try to give guidance on how we can better share our testimonies. As a child, decades ago, many of us were taught to recite the same words month after month, and a string of kids would line up to bear our rote testimonies. Some adults are still bearing those same testimonies decades later.
But is that what God needs us to be doing? Does it do any good? Is it helping anyone else in the room or bring us closer to God?
I began to think about the world of publishing and product sales, there is a similar word to testimony – testimonials. The endorsement of a book, product or program, a bearing witness to the effectiveness of the wisdom, usefulness or practicality of an object or book or course.
An effective testimonial will state the struggle or pain point I had before I picked up the book, what I learned, how that helped me, and how much better my life is today because of it.
It requires a level of introspection, growth, and vulnerability to share these things.
Is that not what we should be sharing: our experiences learning and growing in the gospel, our deeply held spiritual and religious beliefs? It doesn’t have to be preachy or annoying and it certainly won’t be boring.
If we share the struggle we were having, and how learning and implementing a certain spiritual insight changed the way we looked at things, changed the way we acted, changed the way we treated ourselves and others, wouldn’t that have a more profound impact on others?
Wouldn’t that be a reminder to ourselves of God’s goodness, greatness, and wisdom? It could even help us better see God’s hand in our lives and recognize that when we listen to His great wisdom, test it out, try it out, implement it, then amazing miracles happen to us and those we love. It will help us grow our gratitude and as a direct result increase our faith.
Those are the types of testimonies I would love to hear from those around me. When I hear how a product, program, or advice worked for someone else I am more likely to try it out myself. When I am struggling, I want to hear how God’s wisdom helped my neighbour, so I am more likely to remember to try it out myself.
Have you taken stock recently of where you were mentally, emotionally, and spiritually before you felt God’s love, and how that love and wisdom has bettered your life? I would love to hear about it too!
“There are miracles everywhere and can be found in every circumstance if I look for them.”
Laura Lane from ‘I Touch the Heavens’