Preaching with Your Living

Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary use words. 

~ Attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi

We’ve all heard someone say, “I try to share my faith by the way I live,” and there’s an important truth there. We are told that the early Christians were notable for their love and care for one another; if we are aiming to follow Christ as we should, people will notice the effect of it in our lives. If we are not aiming to follow Christ people will see that, too, and it won’t matter what we say because they won’t see any reason to listen to us. At best we will be ignored, and at worst we will cast doubt upon the faith because of the difference between what we say and what we do. 

But suppose we are aiming to follow Christ, we are praying, and we are trying to show God’s love and mercy to those around us. Eventually, someone is going to notice and ask about it. “How do you always stay so calm?” “You’re always so helpful.” “Thank you for letting me vent—you’re so good  about that.” “Things are so hard for you, but you keep going. How do you manage it?” “You go to church, don’t you?” 

It is easy to respond to comments like these by hemming and hawing and saying nothing to the point, but Saint Peter tells us to always be ready to give an answer. If you can’t think of anything else, try a simple, “God is good!”

O Holy Spirit, teach my heart to know what to say when I’m called upon to give an answer.

To Ponder: Have you recently remained silent when you could have used words? What could you have said?
~ Will Duquette

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