Testimony

before i begin, creature comfort is Jono Chua..some have fed back to me that they dun noe who Creature Comfort is and he writes really nasty posts like one of those Sydney Morning Herald North Shore Living, Liberal Voting journalists.. n i've had to say sheepishly that it was just a pathetic international student named Jonathan..

ok, just what is a testimonial? is it a tell all journal of dirty little secrets like Bridget Jones' Diary? a dashboard confessional that one tells to a minister in confidence, preferably of Anglican background, complete with white robes, Authorized Version and 1662 BCP in hand? Or is it a documentary of one's life up till that point, from birth till death, cradle to grave? As many of us will be heading off for mission soon and will probably be giving one in church..isn't this a pertinent question?

growing up in church back home in Singapore, we had Testimony giving each Sunday..n people would often come up n say stuff that wasn't all helpful for the congregation..n the Emcee would have to come up and pick up the pieces after that ..n i always hated how God's people could be so unhelpful to the Body Of Christ..talk about cutting off the nose to spite the face..

we should always be prepared to give a defence of our faith as 1 Peter says..and this is one of the aims of Testimony..to give a defense of our faith in Jesus Christ..and if our conversion experience helps to defend our faith in God's Son, so much the better..but if it clouds our defense, why say it?

And yes, it is about God's glory and ultimate glorification of Jesus, God's Son, which brings the Father most glory..n i can only think of Jesus' Transfiguration in Matthews' Gospel as the best example of how God gives Testimony that glorifies the Son..and ultimately the Father is glorified..and if God the Father gives Testimony that glorifies the Son, can we His children do anything else in our Testimony?

and there is another element of Testimony i believe: to challenge and encourage God's people..this is where we do need to quote Scripture, because through our Tesimony, we are pastoring and ministering to God's people, whether we like it or not..our Testimonies are used by God to work in His peoples' lives..that is why i'm praying and wracking my brains as to how in God's good Creation i should weave Jn 3:16 into my testimony that i'll need to give in Japanese this year.."everything must be proved by two or three witnesses"..if each of us who goes for SPRTE testifies to the goodness of God in sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins..that makes many many witnesses that does prove God's goodness to someone who may be questioning or skeptical about the love of God..

finally, here's something i learnt from the Post-Modernists that may just come in handy...use the same language of communication that is appropriate for the right audience..not just Japanese in Japan or English in Australia..communicate...if i have to use metaphor and analogy to communicate the gospel, i will...and so i must sincerely and humbly apologize to certain of my Anglican Friends in a city somewhere south in NSW at this point and submit to the most painful scourging they may subject me to..but this i cannot recant..

i pray that my senseless meandering has actually proved useful and helpful..i do apologize if i've polemicised rather than drawn together..pray forgive my brothers and sisters in Christ..