Love The Preaching, or The People?
June 11, 2008Today, ask yourself this question: Do I love the people to whom I preach? Does my heart yearn for their conversion, their progression, their growth?
“Richard Cecil said, ‘to love to preach is one thing; to love those to whom we preach is quite another.’”
(quoted from Lloyd Jones, Preaching and Preachers, 92)
I came across that quote when I first read Lloyd Jones (30+ years ago?? Whenever it first came out) and have never forgotten it. To my mind it’s an absolute key to grace-centered ministry.
Best quote I heard was from Peter Comont (Magadelene Road, Oxford) speaking to me about facing opposition while encouraging change in church:
“Out think them… out love them… out live them!”
I don’t know if he made that up, or heard it from someone else… probably the former, ‘cos he’s a clever bloke!
During his sermon when I was ordained into the ministry, my Pastor said there are three key things to remember when one is a minister:
1. Love God
2. Love God’s Word
3. Love God’s people
“It’s relatively easy to do the first two,” he observed, “but the third is more of a struggle, and can only be done effectively if you’re doing numbers 1 and 2.”
This is an easy trap to fall into. The human condition is prone to self love and apathy toward others.
If we only love preaching we will have well informed people, if we love the people through our preaching we will have well transformed people. It’s good to be reminded to love our people. Thanks