How Many

Certain facts are beyond my ability to understand, internalize, and ultimately believe.  It is as if my mind and body refuse to greet Truth by the hand.  I know what I know.  I understand what I understand.  If it fits into the box, fantastic!  If it does not, ah, the challenge of the ages unfolds as I refuse to accept.  Witnesses often help my move beyond my rigid position.  Yet, a question often sits unasked and unanswered; how witnesses will it take in order for another to change his or her mind?
When I examine the examples in my own life, the answer is deeply disturbing.  New techniques in photography or woodturning only take a single witness, if it is the right one.  If the witness is the wrong one, that is someone without experience, then it does not matter how many tell me about the new technique.  I believe when I trust.  This response is consistent when I look at restaurants, music, organizational ideas, or even simple recommendations.  My response pivots with the individual's character.
In an old story, a witness was talking about radical ideas and facts.  His response and explanation tells me that nothing has changed in the time since.  “This Jesus, God raised up.  And every one of us here is a witness to it.”  (Acts 2.31)  His audience then and my now respond based on the character I bring to the table. 
I want you to know, value, and have a relationship with my God.  The Divinity I know is full of compassion, mercy, and love.  For many, this is a radical idea, foreign to what others explain about their god.  I often struggle to understand the best way of telling the story and yet, as I reflect on the simplicity in how I learn, the answer is clear.  Everything begins with my personal response to God.  As I live out my life, the story of my God is clear.  God needs one witness, willing and available at the right time.  It can be me and it can be you.