"Was it my sermon?" I asked.
"No," they said. "It was when Tommy came in!"
I learned a great lesson that day, namely this: The greatest sermons don't happen in a pulpit. They happen when we love other people. They happen when we love other people for God's sake. First, the Bible teaches us to love God because he first loves us. Second, the Bible teaches us to love other people for God's sake.
Third and Finally, the Bible Teaches Us to Love Life Because It's God's Gift to Us
Life is not an endurance test. It is a gift from God to be celebrated day in and day out. The scriptures put it like this: "This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). At home we have a plaque with these words: "Today is God's gift to us; that's why we call it the Present."
Fred Craddock tells about an old red mule with which his family used to plow their garden. The mule would often get out of the fence, and it was Fred's job to find the mule and bring him home. Fred was just a young boy at the time, and he would have to go through the woods and across an old family cemetery to find the old red mule. It was scary for Fred to go through the old cemetery, and on top of that, his mother would always say, "Make sure you don't step on graves. Graves are sacred ground, and don't step on the graves." And young Fred would protest because he couldn't tell where the graves were. The cemetery ground was level, the markers were leaning over, and pine needles covered the ground. He said: "Mama, I can't tell what part is sacred." His mother answered, "Well, I know it all looks the same. But if you'll just treat it all as sacred, you'll never miss" (Fred B. Craddock, Craddock Stories [St. Louis, Mo.: Chalice Press, 2001], 91).
What a great lesson that is! Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, if we will learn to treat it all as a sacred gift from God, then we'll never miss. We will do well in this life. This is what the Bible teaches us.
When we understand this and build our lives around these great biblical lessons, then we are rich in the things that count the most. We are rich in the scriptures.
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Rich in Soul
The Signs of a Healthy Spirit
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:27-31
If we were to bring together a brilliant group of doctors, psychologists, and sociologists, and if we were to ask them the question, "What are the signs of a healthy brain?" they would probably list three things:
Think of that with me for just a few moments.
The first sign of a healthy brain is connectedness. A healthy brain is beautifully and amazingly connected to the rest of the body. It's the brain that signals to us how to respond in every situation. It's the brain that prompts and directs every part of the body so that we know how to live and think and move and react. The brain tells the foot where to step and where not to step. The brain tells the hand what to touch and what not to touch. The brain tells the mouth what to taste and what not to taste.
And if there is a disconnect, if the brain somehow gets disconnected from any other part of the body, then we have a big problem and an unhealthy situation.
Let me illustrate that. I have a doctor friend who was playing golf at a country club in Houston some years ago. He stood over his golf ball, ready to hit his drive. Suddenly, as he looked at his golf ball, his vision became distorted. Abruptly, he turned to his friends and said, "Take me to the emergency room; I have a brain tumor." Because of his training as a doctor, he knew immediately that there was a disconnect between his brain and his eyes, and he knew immediately what that meant. He knew he had a problem. He knew that he had an unhealthy brain because the first sign of a healthy brain is connectedness.
The second sign of a healthy brain is communication. A healthy brain enables us to communicate well and sometimes eloquently what we are wanting, feeling, thinking, needing, and expecting.
For example, when a football player takes a hard blow to the head and a concussion is suspected, the first thing the team doctor will do is ask the player some simple questions such as: "Where are you?" "What is your name?" "What day is it?" If the player can't figure out and communicate the correct answers to those elementary questions, then the doctor knows that there is a problem with the brain, and that finding indicates strongly that this is an unhealthy situation—probably a brain concussion—because the player can't think straight and can't communicate.
The third sign of a healthy brain is caring. A person with a healthy brain is able to receive love and to pass love on to others.
About five years ago, we launched our Parenting Center here at St. Luke's and brought in a brilliant doctor from the Houston Medical Center to speak to parents and teachers of preschool children. This doctor had done extensive research on the effect of love on the development of the brain. The doctor put up on a screen two pictures side by side. The pictures depicted the brains of two small children. The brain on the left side of the screen was the brain of a healthy child who had been loved and cherished by his parents. All of his life, he had been held and rocked and patted. All of his life, he had been talked to and sung to and encouraged with words and acts of love. All of his life, every day of his life, he had been reminded and reassured and shown in numerous ways that he was loved and treasured and cared for.
The brain on the right side of the screen was the brain of an abused child, a neglected child, who was left alone in his crib all day long. No one fed him. No one talked to him, and no one held him. He was left all alone all day.
Now, don't miss this. The brain of the child who was cared for and loved and cherished was three times larger than the brain of the abused and neglected child! And there is a sermon there somewhere!
Connectedness, communication, and caring—these are the signs of a healthy brain. They are also the signs of a healthy church! Let me show you what I mean.
First of All, the First Sign of a Healthy Church Is Connectedness
The theme of our stewardship program a few years ago was "Get Connected." It was a great theme because a healthy, wholesome, vibrant church has a strong spirit of connectedness with God and with people. That's what it's all about—connecting with God and people.
Dr. Fred Craddock is one of the great preachers of our time. He tells a story about something that happened to him on an airplane some years ago. It was way back in the days when you could smoke on airplanes.
Dr.