When an old priest died, it was discovered that he had collected all his sermons in to a nice bundle, tied with a cord. On top of the bundle was a card that read: “Where has gone the influence of all these sermons I preached?”
Underneath, he had scribbled in large letters, “OVER”
On the other side was found: “Where are last year’s sunrays? They have gone into fruits and grain and vegetables to feed people. Where are last year’s rain drops? Forgotten by most people, of course, they did their refreshing work, and their influence still abides. So too, I believe, have gone into people’s lives and made them more human, more noble, and more Christ-like.”
There is the story of a skeptic visiting an interior village in Africa. He was shocked by the poverty and misery he saw all around and remarked to the village chief; “Missionaries have converted you and made you Christians. But look at your people, what good has all that done to your people?” And the chief responded pointing to a huge terracotta pot under a huge tree in the center of the village, “15 or 20 years ago you would have been a nice meal for us; that is the difference it has made.” Words are not wasted. May be we should ask, “what or how would I have been without them?”
Indian Thoughts Archives
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