Can I get a witness?

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”I’ve never been on the witness stand. I’ve watched lots of trials, and I have seen lots of witnesses. A witness wields a great deal of power. A witness (good or bad / competent or incompetent) can make or break a case, can help to set free or imprison a defendant. It is hard to underestimate the importance of a witness and of the need of a witness to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.Interesting the treble emphasis on truth-telling, especially that we now live in a culture where telling half-truths is the norm. It’s a sad but true fact that few people really expect the truth to be told. I recently heard a prominent media pundit say (in defending the President and some of his controversial policies), “Of course every politician lies. We just have to decide which lies we can live with.” Horror! The rapid trend toward acceptance of such nonsense runs counter to our system of law which understands the vital necessity of telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.Jesus (THE Truth) knew this. Yet He tapped frail, flawed human beings (ignorant and unlearned, as the Jewish leaders of the First Century called them) to be His witnesses. Amazing! The message about Jesus and His Kingdom would be in their hands. So for Jesus there would be no media campaign, no book deals, and no website to tell His incredible story—just 11 bedraggled disciples and 109 other women and men who had attached themselves to Jesus and His apprentices. An unlikely band of witnesses to be sure.But they wouldn’t be alone; they wouldn’t be doing this witnessing in their own strength, nor with their own meager abilities—they would, according to Jesus, be empowered by the Holy Spirit; i.e., the very Spirit of Christ would not only come upon them, but would also live in them, and by so doing enable them to live the Christ-life, to be His true witnesses. Their humanity would not be erased (they would continue to be fallible), but they would now have a supernatural Helper (the Paraclete) with them at all times. Christ and His Spirit helping them, they would be His TRUE witnesses—and the results speak for themselves (a dramatically changed world and enlarged numbers of followers—from 120 then to two billion today).Our challenge is to carry on that mission, frail and flawed as we are, BUT recognizing all the while that we are aided by Christ through the Holy Spirit to be His true witnesses. It doesn’t mean that WE have to be perfect; it simply means we take Jesus at His word that we will be His witnesses as we are empowered by HIS Spirit. He’s left a mighty significant assignment in our hands; let’s purpose to be His witnesses as we daily live for Him.Abba Father, You know that we are dust, that we are weak, that we often come up short; so we ask for Your empowerment today in order that we may be your faithful and true witnesses. Amen.