It’s been a while. The last time I talked about anyone’s children or grandchildren in this column, it was about Don’s cute kids. Now, I want to reacquaint you with my cute grandkids. This time it’s Nick, who just turned four last month. Nick is the typical “third child.” He just sort of plods along sometimes, wanting to be “big” like his ten-year-old brother or five-year-old sister and, at times, doing anything he can to upset them and vice-versa, for sure.
He is a delight to all of us!
Judy and I had the joy of having him with us a couple of days late last week. We did some of the typical east Tennessee grandkid stuff (you know, Dollywood). Finally, on Saturday it caught up with me; and I had to dismiss myself for a while to finish up a little sermon work. I announced that I was going downstairs to work on my sermon, and Nick announced he was going to help me. If the sermon Sunday was any better than usual, it’s because it had the Nick touch to it.
As we began to work, we talked about preachers and sermons. You may know already that both his dad (son-in-law Jason) and other granddad are pastors also, so I imagine these grandkids of mine think everybody’s fathers and grandfathers are pastors. At any rate, I can’t remember exactly how the conversation got started; but I asked him about Jason’s preaching. And Nick very quickly informed me that his dad “preaches for God.”
Well, I was really glad to hear this, of course. That wasn’t a huge surprise for me because I have heard Jason preach, but what surprised me was that this little four-year-old was able to comprehend that and express it so succinctly. It sort of blew me away.
I’ve thought about it a lot since then. He didn’t say he “preaches about God.” He said he “preaches for God.” I immediately wrote it down, so I wouldn’t forget it.
It is an important reminder for me. Maybe if my sermon happened to be any better Sunday it’s because I realized I was not just preaching about God but for God. There is a difference. To preach for God means that I am on God’s side and that I am standing in as God’s representative in those moments. That’s rather humbling. I don’t think any preaching professor ever told me that. It took a four-year-old to teach me that.
It reminds me that all of us are preachers. We have the responsibility and opportunity to preach for God. We certainly do not have to stand in a pulpit to preach for God. St. Francis of Assisi once said to his monastic brothers: “Go forth and preach. And, if you have to, use words.”
I happen to have a pulpit from which to preach, but that is only a small part of it.
My most important preaching comes from the way I live for God. And that cannot be done in just 18 or 20 minutes a week. It’s a 24-hour-a-day “job.” You and I are both called to stand in for God, representing God and the love of Christ wherever we are and whatever we are doing.
I am grateful to Nick for reminding me of that.
- Jim
