“Therefore, since through God’s mercy we
have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and
shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On
the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to
everyone’s conscience in the sight of God… For what we preach is not ourselves,
but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For
God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our
hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the
face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:1,2,5,6
NIV)
When we listen to preachers who are
really available to themselves and, therefore, able to offer their own life
experience as a source of recognition, we no longer have to be afraid to face
our own condition and that of our world because the one who stands in front of
us is the living witness that insight makes us free and does not create new
anxieties. Only then can indifference
and irritation be removed, only then can the Word of God, which has been
repeated so often but understood so little, find fertile ground and be rooted
in the human heart.
-- Henri Nouwen in “Creative Ministry”
#4784
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