A member of a certain church, who previously had been
attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the
preacher decided to visit him.
It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting
before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his preacher's visit, the
man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace...and
waited.
The preacher made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence,
he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some
minutes, the preacher took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly
burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone, then he sat
back in his chair, still silent.
The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's
flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire
was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.
Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The preacher glanced
at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked
up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire.
Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the
burning coals around it.
As the preacher reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running
down his cheek, 'Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the
fiery sermon. I will be back in church next Sunday.'
We live in a world today, which tries to say too much
with too little. Consequently, few listen. Sometimes the best sermons are
the ones left unspoken. |
