Testifying to the Word

As with a child's birth, our joy compels us to share it with the world whenever a word manifests. We want to shout from the rooftops what Christ has done in our lives. Somehow the song "Go Tell It on the Mountains" would not sound quite right if we sang "Go Tell It in the Plains or Valleys." Yet, perhaps it is the heights to which we are willing to climb to hear our testimony reverberate and echo across vast distances that the word has been born in us anew. It's true! Our Redeemer lives, and I am changing!

So, too, this same testimony surrounds the Nativity. We're told that the shepherds declared what they had seen and heard. Anna, the temple prophetess at Christ's dedication, too, spoke of what she had seen and heard. And the natural result of personal testimony is curiosity: a desire to hear more and understand the fine details of what transpired. Luke records that as the shepherds told their story that all who heard it wondered at it (Luke 2:18).

It is this wonder that grips hold of people every year just following Thanksgiving. Could it be? Underneath the holiday's commercialization, is there something about the advent of Christ that rings true and makes a difference in my life today? Someone who transforms my worldview and causes joy to surround even the most difficult circumstances? The answer is a resounding "Yes!" There is a Savior, and His Name is Jesus!

The purpose of testimony is to glorify God. When hearts are challenged to a thoughtful curiosity that lifts their gazes heavenward, God is exalted. For those who have carefully listened to our stories of God's intervention on our behalf, their ears are that much more attuned to the heavenly frequency that shouts forth that their own redemption has drawn nigh if they will but receive. So you see, the word made manifest is not for you alone, but for all who will hear and come as a result.

If nothing else today, find a reason to testify, allowing the wonder that is the Word Made Flesh to rise within another soul today. Then, who knows but that they, too, will learn the song of the redeemed and burst forth into glorious praise.