it is so applicable in so many situations.  We tend to “talk” things to death:

A 
member of a certain church, who previously had 
been attending services regularly, stopped 
going.  After a few weeks, the pastor 
decided to visit him.

It was a chilly 
evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, 
sitting before a blazing fire.  Guessing 
the reason for his pastor’s visit, the man 
welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair 
near the fireplace and waited.

The pastor 
made himself at home but said nothing.  In 
the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of 
the flames around the burning logs.  After 
some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, 
carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and 
placed it to one side of the hearth all alone 
then he sat back in his chair, still 
silent..

The host watched all this in 
quiet contemplation.  As the one lone 
ember’s flame flickered and diminished, there 
was a momentary glow and then its fire was no 
more.  Soon it was cold and 
dead.

Not a word had been spoken since 
the initial greeting.  The pastor glanced 
at his watch and realized it was time to 
leave.  He slowly stood up, picked up the 
cold, dead ember and placed it back in the 
middle of the fire.  Immediately it began 
to glow, once more with the light and warmth of 
the burning coals around it.

As the 
pastor reached the door to leave, his host said 
with a tear running down his cheek,  ‘Thank 
you so much for your visit and especially for 
the firey sermon. I will be back in church next 
Sunday’.

We live in a world today, which 
tries to say too much 
with too little.  Consequently, 
few listen.  Sometimes the best sermons are 
the ones left unspoken.