From Pastor Bill

A Christian who had previously been attending worship services at his church suddenly stopped going.  A few weeks later, his pastor decided to visit him one chilly evening and found the man sitting beside a blazing fire.

Guessing the reason for the visit, the man welcomed his pastor, led him to a big chair near the fireplace, and waited for the inevitable sermon on faithful church attendance.  The pastor, however, made himself comfortable and said absolutely nothing!  Instead, he contemplated the play of the flames around the burning logs.

After several minutes, though, the pastor took the tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember, placed it to one side of the hearth by itself, and then sat back in his chair.  The host watched all of this in quiet fascination.  In a few minutes, the lone ember’s flame diminished and then its fire was no more; soon it became cold and dead!

Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting, but just before the pastor left he 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 for the door to leave, his host said, “Thank you so much for your visit and especially your sermon.  I shall be back in church next Sunday.”  Yet the pastor had never uttered a word!

Devotedly your pastor,

Bill Blanchard