Rahab's testimony:
I am a business-woman in a small middle-eastern city in Moab, A'bel-shit'tim. I have high-ranking clientele who don't know that I also work as a secret agent for the Israelite Army. I have been very brave: whilst my house was under surveillance, I smuggled Israeli Officers out of the city. When my city was raided by the Israelites, they rescued me and my family because of what I have done for them. I became a grandmother of the Kings of Israel, and eventually the Messiah. (See Joshua 2&6, Mt. 1:5, Heb. 11:13, Jas. 2:25)David's testimony:
I am the King of Israel and Judea. I have everything I want and need. I have a beautiful wife, Bathsheba, and a wonderfully healthy son, Solomon. I have a great right-hand man and advisor, Nathan. (See 2 Samuel 11&12)
I have had the best upbringing and education in all of Israel and received rapid promotion. I am a great detective, identifying and prosecuting those who would try to introduce new thinking. I have done much travelling, and I'm very resilient. I once fell blind, but found a wise specialist who was able to heal me. Although I've been in shipwrecks that were not my fault, I used my leadership skills and miraculous powers to save people, including myself. (See Acts 9,22&26-28, 2 Cor.11:16-28)Do these short testimonies ring true in your heart? There is no falsity in them; but there is a misleading of truth that makes you feel uncomfortable. The testimonies only share the "good bits", and there is even a little "twisting of the truth" to make the witness look better. Is there value in witnessing if we only share the "good bits" of our lives? Facebook is a classic example of this falsity in our cultures. People feel depressed because they see how great everyone else's lives are portrayed on facebook whilst their own lives are messed up, mundane and ordinary. Their kids are sick, they are on a tight budget, working hours are long and hard, and they need a holiday. But it seems like all their friends have a great life; kids are never sick, they win all their sports events and they are always on holidays.
What is your purpose in sharing life stories? The writer of Ecclesiates gives us a warning:
"For there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to a man?" Ecc. 6:11 (NASB) or as rendered in the NIV: "The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?"Are you using your words wisely?
Ray Comfort, in his excellent book "God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life", says
"If non-Christians respond to the gospel message only to improve their lives, they will be disillusioned when persecution comes, and they may fall away from the faith. This is because many respond experimentally, simply to see if the "wonderful life" is as good as Christians say it is" (p.28)
"Jesus didn't shield the newly converted Saul of Tarsus from what was in store for him as a Christian. Instead, Jesus said that He would "show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake" (Acts 9:16). Stephen was cruelly stoned to death for his faith. James, who told his brethren to "count it all joy when you fall into various trials" (James 1:2), was murdered with a sword. John the Baptist also felt the sharp steel of persecution. Down through the ages, Christians have been hated, persecuted, thrown to lions and - like John Hus - even burned at the stake for the sake of the gospel. (p.29)John recognised that it was not about himself, but all about Jesus:
"He must become greater; I must become less", Jn. 3:30 (NIV)and Paul said,
"If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weaknesses", 2 Cor. 11:30 (NIV)Rahab's true testimony:
I was a prostitute in a small middle-eastern city in Moab, A'bel-shit'tim. I have sinned a lot in my life. Many men come to my house for illicit purposes, but on one occasion, the God of the Israelites sent two honest men to my house for safekeeping. I harboured them and helped them to escape, but God had His hand on me all the time. I was scared of being found out. I lied to the officials when they asked me about the men. Some time later, the Israelite Army raided my city, but again, God was gracious toward me and my family and we were rescued and I was grafted into the line of the Messiah. God gave me a wonderful husband, even though I did not deserve one. (See Joshua 2&6, Mt. 1:5, Heb. 11:13, Jas. 2:25)David's true testimony:
I am the King of Israel and Judea, but I wasn't always King of both nations. I was annointed, but I became afraid of Saul and ran away. I am a great warrior, but a few years ago I became complacent and stayed home when I should have been leading my troops at war. I looked for fulfilment in fleshly things, and saw a beautiful woman who was not my wife. In fact, she was the wife of one of my Officers. I took her and had a sinful relationship with her, then tried to cover up by having her husband murdered. God confronted me through the prophet Nathan and my sin was exposed. I was convicted of my guilt and sought redemption. I begged with God not to cast me out of His presence or take His Spirit from me. God has graciously redeemed me and blessed me again, but I didn't deserve it. God still punished me and took my beautiful baby boy, but now he has blessed me with a wonderfully healthy son, Solomon who will be my successor. I praise God for a great right-hand man, prophet and advisor, Nathan who confronted my sin. (See 2 Samuel 11&12 and Ps. 51)Paul's true testimony:
I have had the best upbringing and education in all of Israel and received rapid promotion, but I was a pharisee and legalist. I took offence at the gospel of Jesus Christ and persecuting His followers consumed me. I murdered many of them. I was present and consented to Stephen's stoning. Jesus confronted me on the road and struck me blind, but in His grace, he sent me to a believer who placed his hands on me and healed me. I met the One I was persecuting and now I travel for him. My travel has been hard. Men want to kill me and they pursue me. I have been in many bad situations - too many to even list in this blogspot! I can only give glory to God, and will only boast of my weaknesses and what God has done for me. (See Acts 9,22&26-28, 2 Cor.11:16-28)Do our testimonies lead people to understand their own desperate need for salvation, and the grace of God, or do we selfishly paint a great picture of ourselves to the eternal loss of souls? Are we pretending or are we honest? Pretending was fatal for Romeo and Juliet: "Thus with a kiss I die", and it almost cost Edmund his life in C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe when he was tempted by the "good things".