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10 Lutheran Life This adage has been attributed to President Theodore Roosevelt, although the original source is not truly known. Regardless of when or where it was first spoken, the saying holds much truth, both for life in general and for witnessing specifically. The best way to witness, then, is to start by establish- ing your genuine care for the person you're talking with. This starts in prayer. Pray for God to give you a heart of kindness and compassion for the person you are wit- nessing to. Pray also for the Holy Spirit to be pursuing this person and already preparing his or her heart for the witness you will share. Pray for opportunities to speak about Jesus with this person. And pray that the Holy Spirit would have His way, both with you and with this person, to accomplish His work. In the resource kit Every One His Witness, author Rev. Mark Wood identifies listening and asking questions as key parts of being a witness. By listening to others and asking them questions, you learn about their lives. This also lays a foundation of care and respect—one in which you aren't just talking at someone but truly engaging in a dialogue with that person. You engage in an effort to seek understanding and learn what's important in that person's life. As you listen, key in on significant experiences or exas- perations of the heart. What is the person passionate about, afraid of, searching for, or seeking to mend? An incredible strength of our Christian witness is that we can present Jesus in countless ways. Jesus is the answer of peace and hope in the face of any of life's struggles. Listening gives insight into how a person might need to hear about Jesus specifically. What one person needs to hear about Jesus may be different from what anoth- er person needs to hear. The substance of your witness doesn't change, but how it's shared does depending on the person's situation. Here are a few examples, taken from How to Share Christ Confidently by Milton Rudnick: Those who reveal recognition and regret over wrongdoing . . . are ready to hear that Christ paid for our guilt with His own blood and death. Those who are in pain . . . need to know . . . Christ has suffered for us, so that we can look forward to a life in which there will be [no suffering]. Those who are lonely . . . need to know that Christ empathizes with them, has experienced and overcome the worst kind of loneliness—separation from God—and will fill the void with His own presence. Those addicted to any evil substance or behavior . . . need assurance of Christ's liberating victory over forces that hold us in bondage. [Those] worried about death . . . can find hope in knowing that by His death and resurrection Christ has made a way for us through death to a life that never ends. HOW? Caring is the first objective to witness

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