The Lord appointed seventy-two persons and sent them out two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.  He told them to ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers into his harvest field to win souls (Lk 10:1-2).  It is for us to lift up Jesus to draw men and women to him (Jn 12:32).   God will make our efforts grow fruits when we do the planting and watering (1 Cor 3:8-9), because the fields are ripe for harvest (Jn 4:35).  Jesus himself is praying for future believers (Jn 17:20).  The day will come when soul-winning will not be necessary (Jer 31:34).  The harvest will be passed, summer ended, after people will not be saved (Jer 8:20).  The Lord warns us that the righteous will pay a penalty for failing to witness to evil persons (Ezek 3:18-19).  On our foreheads of those who have repented there will be identification marks (Ezek 9:3-11).

Uniqueness of God

Screenwriter Monica Johnson (1946–2010) wrote, “God is unique in giving His people ways to fellowship, witness, and remember what a mighty and merciful God He is.”  This is the reason why believers must witness to others.  It’s one way of empowering them in obtaining the blessings, and gifts of Almighty God.

Ezra Benson (1899–1994), a farmer, government official, and religious leader said, “I am a witness to nations and people deprived of their freedom.  I was there.  I watched that great Iron Curtain drop around nations which formerly had prized their freedom – good people.  I was aghast at these were written off by the stroke of a pen.”  Freedom came to these nations within the Iron Curtain by witnessing about God’s great works.

Human Rights

In our world there are battles that are fought for human rights.  A British artist Ralph Steadman (b. 1936) wrote, “It makes me so desperately sad to witness just how unforgivably wretched our world has become.”  It’s something to see a wretched world, but another thing to do nothing about it.  This calls for the commitment of believers to take action.  David Suzuki (b. 1936), a Canadian academic and environmental activist said, “Too often, governments are quick to use excessive force and even pervert the course of justice to keep oil and gas flowing, forests logged, wild rivers dammed and minerals extracted.  As the Global Witness study reveals, citizens are often killed, too – especially if they are poor and indigenous.”  However Christian believers are constantly doing their part to bring about positive change in the world.  They often confront governments that aren’t working in the interests of the people.

The eleventh general president of the Young Women’s Organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, Margaret D. Nadauld (b. 1944) said, “Standing as a witness in all things means being kind in all things, being first to say hello, being the first to smile, being the first to make the stranger feel a part of things, being helpful, thinking of others’ feelings, being inclusive.”  Witnessing therefore could be done simply.  It’s about communicating God’s love in a broken world.