Growing up my mom was Jehovah's Witness.
The word "witness" was interesting, but it didn't really catch my attention much back then. But basically I knew that in this context it meant someone to act as a witness to recognize Jehovah and his actions and laws.
I knew from movies and TV that other churches that seemed more musical and active, that when worked into a frenzy the head of the congregation would ask for a "witness."
Then a few years ago for some reason I started thinking about what the significance of a witness is.
In legal proceedings an "eye witness" is very valuable in many cases, (whereas heresay means it wasn't witnessed directly but someone found out via a third party.)
I thought about how a witness is sometimes let go in movies, like Kaizer Soze in "The Usual Suspects." Bad guys took the dude's wife and kid hostage, but then Kaiser Soze shot his own wife and kid and then shot the kidnappers, but he let the last kidnapper go. WHY?! Because someone had to live to TELL THE TALE.
If he killed all of the kidnappers, no one could have beared witness to what happened. Even the term, "bear witness" means something like you are enduring it. It is a burden in some sense.
Or maybe its a great thing.
Maybe like in the case of Jehovah's Witnesses they are so passionate about their truth that they actively go out and promote it door to door.
So another thing. Some people say that "God doesn't give you anymore than you can handle." Well, I would like to call BS on this one. Let's face it, some people get waaay more then they can handle. There is no book that God keeps around with everyone's threshold and then just pushes them over. Or maybe there is. Or maybe that guy isn't a very good god after all.
So either god is a total sadist that likes to dish out the pain, or its really just Satan after all and he really did play the greatest joke ever by getting to believe he is God meanwhile getting people to do crazy and insane things to other people. Or maybe its all a test and blah blah blah. I could go on and on.
So what would be the point of "bearing witness"?
Maybe to make it more REAL. Think about it…
To be continued…