The Branding of Eternity on the Soul

In his book Preaching in an Age of Distraction (Downers Grove: IVP Press, 2014), J. Ellsworth Kalas comments on the ease with which preachers can become disillusioned in their work. People are so busy. They're so distracted. They're so fascinated with all of the gadgets. They're so used to super-high-quality entertainment. They're constantly barraged by a load of messages designed to get their attention and call them to action.

How, then, is a preacher supposed to win and retain people's attention with nothing more than a sincere presentation of the Word of God? The answer to this question is multi-faceted, to be sure, but Kalas, as a seasoned preacher, offers the following encouragement to his fellow preachers. We would do well to read his words well:

“However dull of interest the listener may appear to be, and however distracted by the uncounted voices that clamor for attention, the preacher’s claim was there first. The breath came from God. The soul bears the branding of eternity, no matter how transient its pursuits, no matter how trivial its ambitions…The preacher and teacher must never forget that human hunger is on our side, and we dare not grow cynical because of its ebb and flow. God has a stake in the human soul that is prior to all its other inclinations” (pages 135, 137).

So, my fellow preachers, let us prepare well and pray well, and then let us preach with the faith that God uses his Word to affect the lives of people. Let us remember that this is God's work, nor ours, and that our only calling is to be obedient to him and faithful to what his Word actually says.

And my fellow hearers (I, too, listen to sermons every week), let us seek to create an atmosphere in our souls that is eager to hear and apply the gracious words of God. Let us not be complicit in the world's attempt to distract us from the most important things of life, but rather, let us fight by the grace of Christ to put first things first. If we will do this, we will indeed be eager to live in harmony with the branding of eternity that is in fact on our souls.

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