Be the Witness

In my office, I have a memento from my first minstry.

An orange T-shirt, covered with signatures and names from all the kids in my first youth group at Crittenden Baptist Church, is pinned to the wall.  As I look over all the names, I can still see their faces and remember funny stories and anacedotes about each one.  It is a reminder to me of what I came from and of the memories of my first stop in ministry.

In fact, I have various mementos from all of my ministry stops.  I have photos of the Florida Reach Team I served on as a recent college graduate.  I have pictures of my first youth camp with Immanuel Baptist Church.  I have a few knick-knacks, given as gifts, from my time at Gracey West Union Baptist Church. I even keep old newspaper clippings around to remind me of my time at the Grant County News.

All of these inanimate objects serve to remind me of the past and testify to the work I did at those places.  Each brings back positive and negative memories, but each one also encourages me to keep on working.

In a way, that is what the rock did at the empty tomb of Jesus. 

You see, in Biblical times, rocks or stones served as important markers of history.  Throughout the Old Testament (and even a few sections of the New Testament), you see that rocks signified a marker of remembrance for an important event or encounter with God.  The rocks stood as a witness to what took place and to remind future generations of what God had done.

That is what the empty tomb does for us.  It's a reminder of what Jesus Christ did and an encouragement to keep on working to save souls for the kingdom of Christ.  We can't take people to the empty tomb, but we can be the witnesses of Jesus for them.  We can be the rock that was rolled away.  We can be the person who shares the story of Jesus.

We have to be living mementos.  We have to remind people of what Jesus did. 

If not us, then who?


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