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 pastors 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 cont emplated 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 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.
