- Acts 1:8 - 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.
- Luke 24:49 - And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
We do not have to witness about Christ to people on our own. God has given us believing brothers and sisters, as well as the Holy Spirit, to help us. Before Jesus ascended to the Father, He gathered His disciples one last time and gave them an important promise. They were not to leave Jerusalem yet, but were to wait for an event that would change everything. Note that Jesus spoke these words to a group. He did not send anyone alone. He gathered all His apostles and told them that the Holy Spirit would empower them all together to testify about what they had seen and heard. The early church was not created to consist of believers living separately, each fighting their own battles. The church was meant to be such a unity that its collective life would show Christ to others. This is the foundation of witnessing today as well. We do not have to generate courage within ourselves or determine on our own what to say in that moment. We belong to the body of Christ, which unites believers of the past and the present, and the Holy Spirit is already at work in this unity. Our task is to live faithfully within this unity and trust that when the time comes to speak, the same Spirit who filled the disciples will give us the words and courage we need. Witnessing is not a performance. It is a natural expression of the life we live together in Christ.
Reflection
How does witnessing together with a community of believers give you courage and strength?
