Isaiah 43:10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
    nor will there be one after me.”

Some people insist that you show them “proof of God.” I recently saw a video of someone stating two over-arching proofs, one external and the other internal. The external proof is the complexity of the universe. The probability that all of this could have come about by chance is essentially infinitely small. Even Darwin said that if biological cells would be found to be complex, his theory of evolution would fall apart. We now know that cells are incredibly complex, to the point that the study of cellular biology is a major scientific field. The internal proof is the human moral sense, our conscience, if you will. There is no “evolutionary advantage” to kindness, for example. We have an intrinsic awareness of right and wrong, and the only logical explanation for it is that that’s how we were created. If we were created, there must be a Creator. Those who rebel against that idea don’t want to be accountable to anyone or anything, but their own heart tells them that’s wrong. The question then becomes, what kind of Creator is He? That’s where this verse comes in. We know the character of God from various empirical things, but other than direct revelation through fellowship with Him, we know Him by His servants, those who are in relationship with Him. That’s called being witnesses. Jesus famously told us that as His disciples we are His witnesses, (Acts 1:8) but in a sense, He was just restating what is said here. An important question for every Christian is, what kind of God do people postulate from watching you, who claim to know Him? If that doesn’t give you pause, you aren’t being honest with yourself!

This is a question I have been faced with all my life, growing up in a missionary family in Japan, which is certainly not culturally Christian. I’ve come to realize that spiritual growth is a matter of coming to represent Christ more and more accurately. We are His witnesses whether we like it or not, and we certainly don’t want to hear Him say, “Depart from me. I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:23) I have noticed that people seem to enjoy Cathy and me, and that’s a really good sign. Clerks in stores we frequent seem to brighten up when we walk in, and that makes me very happy. My personal struggle is that I don’t want people just to like me, I want them to love my Lord, who is the Source of everything good in me. I’ve got plenty of not-so-good things in me that are my own responsibility, so if they see good stuff, it’s Him. I’m reminded of Francis of Assisi’s famous directive: “Preach constantly. When necessary, use words.” I want my life to be an accurate representation of my Lord, who loved me enough to die for me.

Father, thank You for this powerful Word. Guide me in laying out a logical outline so that I will be able to share it effectively on Sunday, drawing all the believers to be better witnesses for You, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!