Witness Marks

https://odb.org/MY/2022/04/01/witness-marks

I think in the current context of profileration and easy assessibility of information, people are less likely to actually leave behind traces of how things are done on the thing itself. This is because we just need to make a search in Google or YouTube and the answers should be there. Also present age products are not made to last and repaired to ensure continuity of use but are instead discarded and replaced when they break down. In fact computers and phones are getting faster and faster chips and larger capacity memories that even a 10 year old computer or phone will struggle to keep up with the requirements demanded by present day applications and software systems.

However, things which are mechanically based do last like mechanical watches which are of high value despite their age. Older cars can still run as they used minimal electronics. An acoustic piano or guitar made of wood and strings have little issue staying relevant despite the passage of years. For example, I own a car that’s roughly the age of my second son and although I may spend RM1k or two to maintain it past its economic value, it is still better than paying RM1k++ every month for 60 months for a new car.

What’s the message today? The intention of the witness marks is to help the next person down the line on how to repair the product. Rather than having the next guy going through the whole process to find the starting point, it is already marked there. It is borne out of good intention to help, to save time and effort for the next person.

Can we apply this in ministry? I believe so! When we minister or counsel people, we put in our inputs into that person’s life. In reaching out, we do our part to plant the seed of faith. We may not harvest that seed but it’s OK. We do the preliminary ploughing of the soil work. Let the next person down the road do more and ultimately with God’s grace, that seed may blossom one day to be a tree of faith, standing strong for God and the things of God. We plant into the foundation. That is why whatever we do in the faith will always be good and useful, never wasted or in vain. It is not exactly but somewhat similar to witness marks. For example, if someone had already spoken about Adam and the first sin, we need not elaborate on that again and may go straight away into Jesus’s role in the salvation of mankind. Over the years, each and everyone of us will contribute to the spiritual life of a person, whether in reaching out or making disciples. Let’s encourage and build others up. Let’s help toil the soil and water the ground. Really strange if we are a believers and yet we are out to kill and destroy, than to edify, encourage and build up.