Lost Your Wits?
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth."
Acts 1:8
"Have you lost your wits?!" I am afraid that many in the church have. "Wits" is from the archaic verb "to wit" which meant "to know" and may even descend from the Greek word for idea. It is seen in related expressions such as "at one's wit's end", "have one's wits about one" and "scared out of one's wits". My interest in this ancient word is its relation to the more common word "witnesses" in our text.
A witness is one who knows something. If one does not know, he is not a witness. Christians are witnesses because we know the power of God that works salvation when we repented. The Holy Spirit came upon us and we came to know the wonderful results of such divine power. We now know forgiveness, healing, and the assurance of eternal life. Knowing this makes us witnesses, whether we are willing to share that witness, that knowledge, or not. Some Christians seem unwilling to share these ideas with others. They seem to have "lost their wits". I hope you still have yours - or regain them soon.