"Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: 'I have seen the Lord!' And she told them that he had said these things to her."

John 20:18 (NIV)

Mary left the garden knowing she would not be believed. In first-century Jewish culture, the testimony of a woman held no legal weight and could not be used as evidence in any court of law. The disciples she was walking toward had been shaped by those same cultural assumptions and were fully conditioned to dismiss her before she finished speaking. And she went anyway, carrying five words that would change the world: I have seen the Lord.

The Greek word John uses for "went" is erchomai, meaning to move with purpose toward a specific destination. Mary did not drift toward the disciples or eventually get around to telling them. She moved with intention, straight into the room where she was least likely to be taken seriously, because the encounter with the risen Christ does not leave you sitting quietly with a private experience. It propels you toward the very people who need to hear it most.

John opens his first letter in 1 John 1:1–3 with the language of a witness, not a lecturer. He does not begin with argument or doctrine but with what he personally heard, saw, and touched. He is not transferring information. He is transferring encounter, inviting others to share in the same living Christ who found him, because testimony is not a performance. It is one found person pointing another person toward the same Jesus who found them.

We have talked ourselves out of our own testimony more times than we can count. We have decided our story is too small, too messy, or too unfinished to be worth saying out loud. But people are not waiting for a perfect testimony because a perfect testimony does not spark hope. What sparks hope is someone saying God did this for me, broken and unfinished as I am, and if He did it for me, He can do it for you.

A genuine testimony has always had the same three movements. Who I was before Him, the honest before, not cleaned up, the real place I was standing before He spoke my name. Who I am now with Him, not perfectly, but in real relationship with a living Christ who called me by name and has not let go since. And who I can become because He is still working, because the unfinished part of your story is not a liability. It is the very thing that gives someone else permission to believe God is not done with them either.

Godseekers, the resurrected life was never meant to end with you. Mary risked being judged, ridiculed, and shamed for five words, and those five words became the first proclamation of the resurrection the world had ever heard. You carry the same news, not a polished presentation but an honest account of a living Christ who found you, is walking with you still, and is not finished yet. Your story does not have to be polished to be powerful. It just has to point to Jesus.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You chose Mary to carry the most important news the world had ever heard, knowing the world would not receive her. You choose me the same way. Forgive me for the silence I have called humility when it was really fear. Give me the courage to tell my story honestly, not because it is finished but because it points to You, and use it to reach someone who is still waiting to hear that You can do it for them too. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Personal Reflection

1. Using the three movements of testimony, who were you before Him, who are you now with Him, and who are you becoming because He is still working? Write it out honestly and see what you have been sitting on.
2. Who in your life is watching you from a distance, waiting to see if what you have is real enough to be worth wanting? What would it mean for them if you stopped waiting until you were finished before telling your story?

Step of Faith

Today, write out your testimony using the three movements: who you were before Him, who you are now with Him, and who you are becoming because He is still working. Keep it to one paragraph and do not edit it for perfection. Then find one person this week and share it with them, not because you have it all figured out, but because Jesus does.