Monday, January 10, 2011

Epiphanic Thoughts

"We who have seen the light of Christ are obliged,
by the greatness of the grace that has been given us,
to make known the presence of the Savior to the ends of the earth...
not only by preaching the glad tidings of His coming;
but above all by revealing Him in our lives...
Every day of our mortal lives must be His manifestation,
His divine Epiphany, in the world which He has created and redeemed."
--Thomas Merton

In my experience, preaching rarely works. Preach; preachy; preaching. No matter what the version of the word, it has negative connotations for me...ones of "holier than thou" attitudes, of  hypocrisy, of empty words, of force. Now, not all preaching is like this--I appreciate a good meaty sermon very much--but I don't think it makes a very good life attitude.

Which is why I strive to reveal Christ, rather than preach Him. I learn best by watching the good example of others...and I'm sure others do too. And now, with a pair of small bright and aware blue eyes following me and taking in all my words and actions, I need to be even more aware of how I model Christ in my life.

1 comment: