Persistent Witness

“Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”“ Acts 26:28

The context of today’s focal verse is that the apostle Paul is a prisoner in the palace of the Roman governor in Judea, accused by the Jewish leaders of breaking Jewish law and subverting Roman authority. He’s appearing before King Agrippa, one of the Roman leaders in that jurisdiction, and the king’s response is to Paul’s question asking if he believes the testimony about Jesus’ resurrection.

We don’t know if King Agrippa ever became a Christian, but we know that Paul’s testimony did not fail. Rather, it was part of God’s persistent witness, and like Paul we all need to participate as active witnesses for Christ. People are just one part of God’s persistent witness to the world. He also testifies through his Word, through nature, and through the circumstances of our lives.

But people are a particularly important part of God’s persistent witness and He’s given us the responsibility to both proclaim and pray. Sometimes you may be the first person to tell someone about the love of Christ, planting a seed so to speak. Other times your proclamation of the gospel may reinforce the witness of others, watering what has already been planted. Never get discouraged if someone responds as King Agrippa did, but rather take comfort in the fact that you are part of God’s persistent witness to that person and continue to pray for them.

I remember the testimony of one baseball player who was traded several times and on every team he went to there were Christians who shared the gospel with him and prayed for him, and by God’s grace he finally came to the Lord. Each fellow player who encouraged him along the way was part of God’s persistent witness that eventually led to his salvation.

Are you actively participating as part of God’s persistent witness to the people around you?