A first-year student in a Catholic seminary was told by the dean that he should plan to preach the sermon in chapel the following day. He had never preached a sermon before, he was nervous and afraid, and he stayed up all night, but in the morning, he didn't have a sermon. He stood in the pulpit, looked out at his classmates, and said, "Do you know what I am going to say?" All of them shook their heads "no" and he said "Neither do I. The service has ended. Go in peace."
The dean was not happy. "I'll give you another chance tomorrow, and you had better have a sermon." Again, he stayed up all night; and again, he couldn't come up with a sermon. Next morning, he stood in the pulpit and asked, "Do you know what I am going to say?" The students all nodded their heads "yes." "Then," he said, "there is no reason to tell you. The service has ended. Go in peace."
Now the dean was angry. "I'll give you one more chance; if you don't have a sermon tomorrow, you will be asked to leave the seminary." Again, no sermon came. He stood in the pulpit the next day and asked, "Do you know what I am going to say?" Half of the students nodded "yes", and the other half shook their heads "no." The student preacher then announced, "Those who know, tell those who don't know. The service has ended. Go in peace."
The seminary dean walked over to the student, put his arm over the student's shoulders, and said "Those who know, tell those who don't know. Today, the gospel has been proclaimed."
One of the things I remember about my father was that he always said, "People may not remember what you say but they will always remember what you do." I think too often we think we can't share what we know because we're too shy or because we don't think we know enough. Live your life to glorify God and you will be telling others.
Peace,
Skip
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Pastor James "Skip" French is the pastor of Highland Christian Church, 1500 Forest Hills Blvd., Bella Vista. Opinions expressed are those of the author.