By: Dr. Jimmy Young
A story is told of Charles Spurgeon, who was subject to black bouts of depression. One time he felt so crushed in spirit that he simply could not carry on with his commitments in his home church. Hurriedly he arranged for another pastor to fill in for him and then left town for the weekend. That Sunday he attended a tiny country church, where the sermon that was preached had such a dramatic effect upon him that immediately his depression lifted and he felt totally refreshed and eager to return to his ministry. At the door he introduced himself to the young, unknown preacher, thanking and praising him mightily. The poor man seemed dreadfully embarrassed, however, and finally he had to confess that the sermon he had just preached was in fact one of Spurgeon’s own.
I guess there are two things I would like to say about that story. First, do you see how necessary is the ministry of community… the task of “one-anothering”?
Second, sometimes all we need is someone to remind us of things we already know and believe.
