There is an old preacher story about a gentleman who was walking on the east end of Glasgow, Scotland. The streets were so narrow and the tenements so high that little direct light ever reached the houses on the one side. The man’s attention was drawn to a disheveled, barefoot boy holding a fragment of a mirror who was trying to catch the sun’s rays and direct them to a certain window on the houses opposite. Intrigued, the man inquired as to what the boy was trying to accomplish. The boy replied, “Well my wee brother had an accident two years ago and is bedridden and his room is on the wrong side of the street to get the sunshine, and so I am trying to catch the light with this small piece of mirror and shine it into his room.”
The story of this little boy is a call to action on the part of every Christian to rise and shine for Christ (Phil. 2:15-16). It ought to be the Christian’s passion and purpose in life to share the light of the gospel with a dark world (Matt. 5:14-16). To allow God to use our words and actions to reflect the radiance of Christ into the lives of those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death (1 Peter 2:9). Jesus is the light, but Christians are to be the lamps that carry the light.
A good example of this was John the Baptist (John 1:6-8; 5:35). John the Apostle tells us that John the Baptist had a singular focus and function in life and that was to bear witness to the light, the revelation of Jesus Christ. Jesus was the light and John was the lamp that carried the light; Jesus was the Word and John was the voice; and Jesus was the bridegroom and John was the best man. His life was fully devoted to magnifying the magnificence of Christ (John 3:30). His calling and authority was from God (John 1:5). His message was centered on the grace of God that was put on display in the coming of Christ (John 1:15-18). And his clear goal and passion was to see people saved (John 1:7). The burden and intent of John’s Gospel is to give witness to the visible presence of the invisible God in the person of Christ (John 1:14, 18). John the Baptist belongs to a parade of witnesses, which includes the Father himself, the Holy Spirit, the words and miracles of Christ, and other human witnesses. Making Jesus known so that others might know salvation is the heartbeat of this gospel (John 20:30-31).
John bore witness to Jesus and so must every Christian in every age (Acts 1:8). The point of our life is to point others to a life in Christ. As a friend of mine put it, “If we are not fishing we are not following” (Mark 1:16-18). In talking about witnessing, let us remember that the role of a witness is to tell truthfully and naturally what they have seen, heard, and experienced. In the light of that basic definition, our witnessing must be word-driven and natural. Core evangelism is about retelling the gospel story that brought us to faith in Christ (1 John 1:1-4). It is also about telling our story and the delightful difference Christ has made in our lives (Psalm 9:1; 40:1-3). That Christ has given us freedom through His forgiveness, purpose through His plans, and joy through His abiding presence!
As Spurgeon said, “Evangelism is about one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.”