What do we convey by what we don’t say? What do our actions say about us? What kind of witness are we anyway?
According to Random House College Dictionary, two definitions of witness are: to see or know by personal presence and perception; and to bear witness to, testify to, give or afford evidence of.
The gospel writer, John says of Jesus: “What Jesus has seen and heard, of that He bears witness, and no man receives His witness. He who has received His witness has set His seal to this, that God is true.” If we are confident in what we are witness to, we should speak boldly – not arrogantly – but with total conviction.
So then, what did Jesus mean when He said to His disciples, “You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” if they were not to speak boldly with conviction of what they had seen and heard? Paul, as well, was told, “For you will be a witness for Him (Jesus) to all men of what you have seen and heard. (Acts 22:15)
I wondered then, if silent witness could also be included with the definitions mentioned here. And if so, how? But if not, why not? The psalmist thinks so. He says in Psalm 89:37, “It shall be established forever (speaking of the Davidic Covenant) like the moon and the witness in the sky is faithful.”
The credibility of even being a silent witness was validated recently when I learned of a woman who had been broken because of years of physical and emotional abuse from her very dysfunctional family. She recounted a pivotal point in her life.
One Sunday morning as she sat at her apartment window looking out at nothing in particular – feeling hopeless, abandoned, and broken, she notice a family across the street get into their car and leave for church. “I want that,” she whispered. “I wish to be a family – one that loves each other. I want to go to church. I want to belong.”
Her neighbors, of course, did not know she had seen them nor had they realized that because of their silent witness, this young woman decided to go to church the following Sunday. That was the start of her journey in search of faith and healing of her brokenness. She had been wounded, but not destroyed. She had been alone, but not abandoned because for the first time, she sensed God’s immense love reach out to her . She had hope.
I wondered, does my verbal witness of Jesus give hope to the hurting, healing to the wounded, and love to the broken? Does my silent witness, my actions, convey the same message as my verbal message does? What do we convey by what we don’t say? Would anybody be stirred to wonder about God by watching our actions? In other words, “Do we walk the talk?” Is it enough? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no.