Witness

Most religions encourage evangelism, sharing the truth with others to lead them to salvation. The religious mandate to bear witness to the truth grows out of love—concern for that person’s eternal life, based upon the conviction that the truth of religion is liberating and will bring out that person’s higher potential.

Witness begins by example, to “let your light so shine before men.” Through good deeds and a compassionate heart, the believer demonstrates living faith that is attractive to others.

Next comes preaching and teaching the doctrine. Although evangelism sometimes meets with opposition, nevertheless it should be carried out with a pure mind and upright conduct while always trusting in God’s guidance.

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the close of the age. Matthew 28.18-20: The Great Commission

Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and kindly exhortation. Reason with them in the most courteous manner. Your Lord knows best those who stray from His path and those who are rightly guided. Qur’an 16.125

The Exalted One said… “Go you forth, brethren, on your journey, for the profit of the many, for the bliss of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the welfare, the profit, the bliss of devas and mankind! “Go not any two together.

Proclaim, brethren, the Norm, goodly in its beginning, goodly in its middle, goodly in its ending. Both in the spirit and in the letter make known the all-perfected, utterly pure righteous life. There are beings with but little dust of passion on their eyes. They are perishing through not hearing the Norm. There will be some who will understand.” Vinaya 1.21 (Buddhism)

Lords of light, fill me with the sweetness of the bee-honey, so I may speak the glorious Word to the masses of the people. Atharva Veda 6.69.2 (Hinduism)

Hillel said, “Be of the disciples of Aaron—one that loves peace, that loves mankind and brings them nigh to the Law.” Mishnah, Avot 1.12 (Judaism)

Those who teach this supreme truth of the Gita to all who love me perform the greatest act of love; they will undoubtedly come to me. No one can render me more devoted service; no one on earth can be more dear to me. Bhagavad-Gita 18.68-69 (Hinduism)

Understand that through saving others you shall also be saved. Ofudesaki 3.47 (Tenrikyo)

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5.14-16

I should be a lamp for the world Replete with the virtues of Buddhahood, Their ten powers, their omniscience. All sentient beings Burn with greed, anger, and folly; I should save and free them, Have them extinguish the pains of the states of woe. Garland Sutra 36 (Buddhism)

We are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God… We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors, watching, hunger; by purity, knowledge, forbearance, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute.

Furthermore, we are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything. Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return—I speak as to children—widen your hearts also. 2 Corinthians 5.20-6.13

If you are aware of a certain truth, if you possess a jewel, of which others are deprived, share it with them in a language of utmost kindliness and goodwill. If it be accepted, if it fulfill its purpose, your object is attained. If anyone should refuse it, leave him unto himself, and beseech God to guide them. Beware lest you deal unkindly with him. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf 15 (Baha’i Faith)

These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay. Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart. As you enter the house, salute it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you… “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops.” Matthew 10.5-28

Monks, there are these two gifts, the carnal and the spiritual. Of these two gifts the spiritual gift is preeminent. Monks, there are two sharings together, the sharing of the carnal and the sharing of the spiritual. Of these two sharings together, the sharing of the spiritual is preeminent. Itivuttaka 98 (Buddhism)

There is a traffic in speakers of fine words; Persons of grave demeanor are accepted as gifts; Even the bad let slip no opportunity to acquire them. Therefore on the day of an emperor’s enthronement Or at the installation of the three officers of state, Rather than send a team of four horses, preceded by a disc of jade, Better were it, as can be done without moving from one’s seat, to send this Tao. For what did the ancients say of this Tao, how did they prize it? “Pursuing, they [who have Tao] shall catch; pursued, they shall escape”? They thought it, indeed, the most precious of all things under heaven. Tao Te Ching 62 (Taoism)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
By witnessing through the Divine Principle, we are carrying out a movement to revive love. [We are building] the world of heart, which transcends time and space.

Our words and our prayers are ultimately for the sake of love. Let us realize the ideal of love—that is perfection. (33:69, August 8, 1970)

God rejoices when we testify to Him with an earnest heart. God desires to work through good people to save every human soul from the world of death. God would not withhold anything from people who understand this deep wish of Heaven—and who take it upon themselves to resolve the grief in God’s heart by shouldering the burden in God’s place, fighting to save people, and declaring God’s heart to the world. (8:259, January 17, 1960)

Witnessing means inducing people to leave the satanic world with a smile and follow the heavenly path. It is guiding them to the Kingdom of Heaven. You cannot force people to come; people are spiritual beings… Give your utmost love to them and cry with a painful heart to raise them one by one and persuade them to follow the path of God’s providence. (50:279, November 8, 1971)

Witness with the heart of Heavenly Father looking for His lost child. (10:219, October 14, 1960)

Witnessing is about loving someone else’s child more than your own children and loving people who are not of your community more than your own people. You love them as you would your siblings and your children, more than anyone else in the fallen world would.

You are Abel, and your victory in loving Cain—loving him according to Abel’s standard of faith—brings Cain to heaven. You should think about receiving your blessings after he does. (93:281, May 19, 1994)

Loving your brothers like God loves them opens the way to the Kingdom of God. You are trying to follow True Father. With such a mind, help your brothers follow me. From this viewpoint, the one who teaches the highest, quickest and best way to go to the Kingdom of God is neither God nor True Father, but your brother. (66:125, April 18, 1973)

Although God loves you, if you are not so proud of God’s words that you want to shout them out to the cosmos, then you cannot really stand as a child of God. (22:205, February 4, 1969)

Before we can educate others about God, eternal life, and true love, we should know them ourselves. Then, no matter what others say, we can speak of them from our own experience. We should speak from the facts that we know and not merely repeat what others have said.

That is how we can come closer to God and become central figures. We need to obtain this if we are to bring many others to participate in the heavenly world and digest the remnants of the satanic world. (205:130-31, July 29, 1990)

May all those who follow Thy heart be as candles lighting the five continents, lighthouses on the great sea. May we become witnesses—knowing the mission we shoulder, ready to testify to Thy deep heart, and going forward as incarnations of Thy love. (86:91, March 7, 1976)

Jesus shed tears of compassion for the people on earth, even after suffering injustice and mistreatment at their hands. In the Last Days there must emerge many believers who will do the same.

When you meet a good person, love and serve him well. When you make the acquaintance of bad people, be worried and anxious for their sake. Go forward bearing a cross for each of them, for the sake of creating heavenly families, a heavenly society, and a heavenly world. Persevere while embodying the heart of Jesus Christ, and be victorious in fulfilling the will of God. (1:254-55, November 25, 1956)

Let God lead your way. Then you will feel the heart of God in front of you, leading you always. In such a state you can teach a crowd, no matter how large. God will coach you, and you will speak in spite of yourself.

You hear what you are saying, but at the same time you marvel at what you say. In that state of mind, everything happens spontaneously.

Every movement of your body and every facial expression is natural and in sync with your spoken words. Continue to have such experiences, and a life-giving movement will arise from your labors. (96:168, January 3, 1978)

Sometimes you feel a spiritual connection to a person passing by. You feel something familiar about him even though you see him for the first time. You think, “Have I met that man before?” Do not miss this opportunity. Approach him and make a connection.

That person is absolutely necessary for you. Speak to him with your utmost sincerity; invest your heart for him more than you ever did for God, and do not let go of him.

Then you will form an inseparable relationship. By this method, you will expand the base of love that bonds all of your companions. If you do this often, you will become a bearer of grace and draw near to the Kingdom of Heaven. (308:213, January 5, 1999)

When you experience the living God, you will go out witnessing even if people tell you not to do so. It is because witnessing produces the most stimulating and new results.

If you carry on a sincere conversation with ten people, all ten will become new people. After that, go to church and pray. See what happens: when they make progress, you will also advance. (30:154, March 21, 1970)

As you wake at dawn, pray and shed tears for the people of your district… You will find yourself shedding tears because you realize that when God looks down upon that village, He, too is weeping, knowing that everyone there is heading toward hell. When you enter a state of resonance with God’s sorrowful heart, then the whole spirit world will be mobilized to help you. (96:282, February 13, 1978)

May we awaken this people who are asleep, that they may become Thy sons and daughters. We appeal to Thee: May we save all the people of the world being swallowed by the darkness. (2:335, August 4, 1957)