But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Act 1:8
These words were spoken by Jesus.
Often we hear of the *great commission, also known as “save the lost at any cost”, referring to Mark 16:15, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
I have often pondered the belief that the primary thing Christians are to do is evangelize, cramming Jesus down everyone’s throats, after all, that is the *great commission*. Yet, it seems there is something more to it than that, or perhaps people coming to know Jesus is the end result, but our method is not necessarily the way we should go about it.
It is overlooked that we are to be WITNESSES UNTO HIM.
1) WHAT are we witnessing about? Love, pure and simple, we are witnesses of the Love of God, as spoken of in John 3:16, for God so loved the world… The Love that loved all the way to the cross and died for us.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13. Jesus loved us to death, and calls us his friends.
2) WHO we are witnessing to? God. We are witness unto HIM.
When we witness/testify of the Love God in our hearts, of the Love HE has extended toward us, we are lifting up God in our praise of HIM. In so doing, He then draws people to Himself.
3) WHY are we witnessing? The bible says, “if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” John 12:32.
This is how we fulfill the great commission and preach the gospel to all creation. In the end, it is the Love of God that forgave us and saved us. In the end, the Love of God will remain. In the end, our prize is Jesus Christ, the embodiment of Love, God in the flesh, a Love that gave himself for us.
That’s what we should be doing as Christians, testifying of LOVE (for God is Love). 1 John 4:8
As long as I shall live, I will testify of Jesus’ love for me.
