A friend of mine shared with me a few years ago that one day, later in the week, a colleague of our called him with the lament of, "I've looked at the texts for this week and there's just nothing to preach. I don't know what to do."
I've thought of this a great deal since my friend shared it with me, but I think I have erred because I left it in the context of a pastor's struggle with what to preach for a given Sunday. Thinking through this more lately, looking at our congregation (and the larger church), I have been reminded my friend's advice to our colleague is not just a word to the preacher, but to all Christians.
For, you see, my friend's reply was, paraphrased, "The text speaks for itself. Just because YOU may not have something to say doesn't mean the text is silent."
Where I think we all could learn from this is from the simple reminder that the life we live is first and foremost about proclaiming GOD in all our thoughts, words, and deeds.
As you go into the rest of this week, or, for that matter, the rest of your life, be vigilant in pursuing a life that tells not YOUR story, but GOD's. (Oh, wait, I almost forgot: By confession Christ as our Lord and Savior, accepting the Divine gift of salvation and redemption, we have, to use Paul's words, died to ourselves. Something, I think, along the lines of, "It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives within me.")
Yes. That's it. Let us covenant together to live in such a way that it is no longer we who live, but Christ within us. Then, we will never have nothing to say, for what we declare is Christ's victory over sin and death.
See You Soon!
Lamar
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