The Lonely Ember

Years ago, I read a story called, “The Lonely Ember.”   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 big chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the play 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 fascination.   As the one lone ember’s flame diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and “dead as a doornail.”   Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.   Just before the pastor was ready to leave, he 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, “Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday.” The story above teaches us two powerful lessons: First, it reminds us that we should attend worship on a regular basis. Isolation is a bad thing. Cutting ourselves off from one another is never a positive thing, and oftentimes isolation leads to negative consequences. The New Year is among us; I am not sure about your relationship with Church. I am not too concerned about the Denomination, more so that you attend regularly. Yes, I know firsthand that, unfortunately, churches are indeed filled with imperfect people. But I like to remind folks that we are imperfect people saved by a perfect Savior. Attending church has its benefits. You might find a community that supports you, a place to keep you motivated to live a better life, enjoy meeting people with similar values, and contribute your God-given talents. Why not find a church and visit? Second, if you are a regular attendee, look around, and see who is not in the pews. Did you know there are roughly 59 “one another” statements in the New Testament? I.e. “Love one another”, “Be devoted to one another”, “Be patient with one another”, Etc. Community is important to the Christian faith. Oftentimes, people fall away for whatever reason and need a phone call or personal visit. Going the extra mile just might be what a person needs to feel the warmth of the fire again.