A Sermon with out Words

A member of the 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 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.

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The author is unknown to me  for the story written above. But it is something to think about. I say often that many times Christians walk this earth and by their example they might be the only "bible" many will ever read. Sort of sad that a few "apples" spoil it for many good "apples" out there. That's a good one -"bad apples" . It was an apple that started a lot of things.  But we should do what we can to do our best. Live a life that shows the Love God has for us. Sounds pretty good to me. Though there are certainly times when that can be a pretty large challenge. But this is one that can be very rewarding.