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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 preacher 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 shall 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.
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