What kind of witness do you like to have? By serving the Lord according to His measure we can all obtain a witness from Him. This should be our goal in life. People of the world, as well as many believers, seek a witness that glorifies them in the flesh. They do it by improvising a variety of things, which are seemingly of the Lord. On the other hand, we must all seek to have a witness from Him. Such witness will live even after we have finished our journey on the earth. The Lord makes use of our life in faith for His glory. He leads people pass on our life story to the generations after so that they glorify His nature and power. Jesus makes sure that the witness we attained from Him will last forever. And we serve Him even after we die. “Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her” (Matt. 26:13).
When we do the works God appointed to us or inspired us to do, they will later be spoken of in memory of us. It is the work of the Lord by a promise. Our life story for Jesus becomes an inspiration as well as an invitation for many to believe in the true God. We live through the words of others so that those who hear will live for Christ. When that woman anointed Jesus’ head with a very costly alabaster vial, it was by the inspiration of God the Father. The Father led her to glorify His Son. A good point to note is that she was nobody. In other words, she wasn’t a disciple of Jesus; she wasn’t a prominent person. But God chose her for a great work. Sometimes we feel incompetent and unworthy to glorify God and shut Him from using us perfectly; even if one is educated or talented, he or she can succumb to peer pressure and feel unworthy. Remember, our competence to serve Him does not come from us, but from Him. It is He who makes us worthy to do great works for Him. We need not be anxious for the supplies or worry about our weaknesses and inadequacies. At the moment our heart is willing and is ready to serve Him, He opens the heavens and uses us. Then, our joy will be made full. Suddenly, we become somebody, a prominent person through Christ. Do you desire it? Are you willing to be that person?
You can always choose to be reclusive and prevent God from leading you through the door of opportunities. But if you tune your mind to think positively and believe that it is indeed He who makes you worthy, you can step out boldly and give yourselves to Him. The woman loved Jesus with all her heart and might. And it is such love toward Him that makes you give yourself to Him. Don’t love Him in the flesh or through things, but with your heart and strength. In other words, love Him with you inner being and with a desire to intimately work with Him. You will see that you are indeed a valuable person to Him; for He has spoken it. “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life’” (John 8:12).
By having the Light of life, i.e. righteousness, God takes the opportunity to make you a significant person. As long as you live on the earth, you will gather a reputation or witness that comes from heaven. After death you will be remembered for what God has turned you into. You see, righteousness doesn’t need the world and its things to identify it. But, it needs you for the world to identify the true God. By it you serve Him through great works. Darkness fears to come near you. Hence, you no longer consider yourselves incompetent and unworthy. By the works God inspired you to do He will not let you walk in darkness. So, follow Jesus. He will remove all your fears and make you bold. You will have a name from heaven that bounces off the tongues of men.
Consider these five principles that will help you follow Jesus.
- It is God who does great things. But, He does them through you. “After he (Paul) had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry” (Acts 21:19). Your life will end up being a story for many to hear and know the true God.
- Do not doubt or worry. God has untold things under His authority to let you become a significant person. “And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord” (1 Cor. 12:5). A ministry you receive from Him and that may also involve many things will be good enough to last you for a lifetime and then after carry your name to the following generations.
- Hold on to God’s inspiration. Do not let anything distract you from it. Men and Satan often discourage you from holding to that which God appointed to you. Men don’t understand it and so, they think you are doing something unfitting; they think you have no understanding. Satan tries to divert your mind with other things. That which God has given you is of faith and it is with mystery. He will give you understanding for it as you hold on to it. “But holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience” (1 Tim. 3:9). The more you walk in it the more you find out its length, breadth, height and width. And they too will understand.
- God is your provider. It is never man. God arranges all things for you. He has made plans to work with you. He has set aside His people to work with you. He will further develop more of them for Himself through you and will unite them with you. He will take care of you. So, don’t trust in any man nor lean on them. “For He Himself has said, ‘I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU’” (Heb. 13:5).
- Practice righteousness. Keep working the works of God after you have received them. They give you a witness, because you are known as the child of God. “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God…” (1 John 3:10). No one can practice the righteousness of God without having His works. Practicing righteousness further helps you follow Jesus in that He keeps adding significance to your name.