THE SILENT SERMON
A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services
regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor 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 pastor's visit, the
man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and
waited.
The pastor 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 pastor 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 pastor 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 pastor 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
firey sermon. I will be back in church next Sunday".
Iron sharpeneth Iron
Article Corollary:
Sunday Home Sermon:Alone but not lonely The search for Self,Creation & Creator http://bit.ly/dDoLYz
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