Words

Words have a way of hanging around and fulfilling their purpose long after they have faded in the air, torn from the page, or faded away where memory can no longer bring them back to the present moment.   This I know from my encounter with words over the years.  Some words are remembered as if they were sent forth as life yesterday while others only come to mind by some jogging of the memory such as might happen with an underlining in a book, or the rediscovery of some note laid aside long years ago.  It is also something learned from years of preaching.    

Preaching is about words.  So often it is about too many words.  Those who honor the preacher by listening are hit with so many words in the air that they end up hardly being heard.  Many things are remembered about years of preaching, but the most amazing memories are of those who pause to speak of how a word spoken in a sermon had a profound impact on the way life was being lived.  And what is even more amazing is the way the words spoke to a hungry heart in a way never imagined when the words were being crafted in the sermon.    

God is surely in the process of taking words offered and using them for purposes beyond the purposes of the preacher or the writer of spiritual stuff.  From time to time someone speaks of how a word written in the midst of these notes has gone further than I could have imagined.  When I hear such a word, I am not only encouraged, but also filled with gratitude to God for continuing to use the feeble and imperfect efforts of this preacher who seeks to somehow make a difference for the sake of the One who called so long ago.