FIRST-PERSON: There is no such thing as a boring testimony

Three Southwestern students were walking along the sidewalk when a school bus dropped off a teenage girl. She walked toward them, so the team engaged her in spiritual conversation. One of the members shared his testimony along with the Gospel, and when the girl responded by expressing her desire to profess faith in Christ, another team member led her in prayer. The girl had stepped off the bus a lost person, but she went home a Christian.

Does this girl have a “boring” testimony? Admittedly, I didn’t tell it in the most compelling manner, but even so, when only the most basic details are shared—a girl heard the Gospel and responded in faith—can this be regarded as a boring testimony?

In Sunday School earlier this semester (I co-lead a small group of high school guys), we shared our testimonies, and one student prefaced his with the statement, “I have a boring testimony.” What he meant is that, in response to his parents’ Gospel presentation, he made a profession of faith at a young age. He was, therefore, not saved out of a life of drugs; he did not overcome a shattered life; and he did not find Christ from a prison cell, then proceed to share the Gospel with his fellow inmates through a Spirit-led prison ministry.

From a human perspective, perhaps the student’s testimony would have been more interesting if any of those things were true. So, from a human perspective, maybe he was right when he said he had a “boring” testimony.

And perhaps you can relate. Maybe the story of how you came to know Christ is similar to that of the student in my small group, who came to Christ as a child through the witness of his parents. Or maybe it’s like the girl who stepped off the bus, who simply heard the Gospel and then responded by confessing Jesus as Lord. From a human perspective, perhaps you, too, have a boring testimony.

But maybe we shouldn’t view our testimonies from a human perspective. Jesus said there is joy in the presence of the angels of God when one sinner repents—just as a shepherd rejoices when he finds a lost sheep, a woman her lost coin, and a father his lost son (Luke 15). Apparently, regardless of how “boring” our testimonies may seem to us, heaven hasn’t heard a boring testimony. Now there’s something to think about.

Perhaps, then, we should reconsider how we articulate our testimonies. Consider the story of the teenage girl who stepped off the bus. Biblically speaking, she was lost but now is found; she was a spiritual orphan but now is an adopted child of the King; she was empty and enslaved by sin but now is indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God; she was dead but now is alive. When put in those terms—when the reality of salvation is made clear—the story is anything but boring.

Let’s consider this point another way, this time from your perspective. The Creator of the universe, who sits enthroned above all creation as King over all—who places the stars in the sky and calls them each by name—out of the 7 billion people on this planet, knows who you are. And in spite of knowing who you are and all the sins that you have committed, He loves you so much that he sent His Son to die in your place, taking your sin upon Himself, and with it, the punishment that that sin deserves, so that you, an unworthy sinner, could be forgiven and freely receive by faith (not works) eternal life with Him in paradise.

In other words, God wants to spend eternity with you, and He made a way for you to do that—to bask in His glorious presence for all eternity. This instead of what you actually deserve, which is eternal fire in hell, separated from Him. He spared you from this by paying the ultimate price of His own life.

This is the furthest thing from a “boring” testimony! And indeed, the hymn is right in declaring, “Amazing love! How can it be, that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”

Every testimony tells this story; every testimony tells the story of this God. Every testimony is an indication that God is loving, merciful, gracious, holy, mighty, awesome, powerful, humble, and indescribably, incomprehensibly big yet considerate, compassionate, concerned about His people, hearing our cries, looking upon the lowly, and opening His hand of provision to every creature. Our testimonies are a story of this God.

From a human perspective, some testimonies and some evangelism stories may be more interesting and more compelling than others. But biblically speaking, every testimony and every evangelism story is an affirmation of who God is and what He has done for us.

And when our testimonies are articulated in this manner, they should inspire lost people to seek the Lord through faith, and they should inspire saved people to PRAISE THE LORD for what He has done for them; for WHO HE IS. Indeed, every testimony—including that of the girl who stepped off a bus, the student in my small group who came to faith at a young age, and you—is a story of how great and good God is. Think on these things and realize: there is no such thing as a boring testimony.