Only preach hope

Rev Vincent Lau was our guest speaker today. He was with us this year for the 4th or 5th time already. But this round, he stayed back for quite a considerable length of time to chat with some of us. SH and I had the privilege of his attendance, and also his wife Jaycee.

We spoke about a lot of things, but we soon found ourselves talking about preaching. I had commented that preaching is hard to do, that it is indeed a very pastoral thing. What he said in response I find very interesting but I am still mulling about it though.

He said that he became a Christian at age 19, and began preaching when he was 21. When he started, he was preaching from life experience. But soon, he found himself in a seminary and from then on, he began to preach theology. He found that he “turned dry” in his preaching. There was no life. But after many years of doing it, he concluded on this one thing – that in preaching, the end of the message has to be hope. A preacher can, and in fact should, discipline and exhort, but in the end of it all, there must be hope.

I agree with him on the message of hope. As one worships in a faith community, one also yearns for life and yearns for God. And hope is the Lord’s to give and He will give hope. But I am not sure about not preaching theology.

To me, right theology should drive our lives, right theology should shape our talk and right theology should pace our walk. I would however, have to agree that if theology is all we are, with no compassion, no love, and no hope, we are nothing. After all … If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. (1 Cor 13:1)

Preaching is a message of love and a message of hope. And indeed Rev Vincent does preach hope in our church. We are usually left with a message that encourages us in our walk with our Lord. Yes, as a result of his messages, we do acknowledge our weaknesses and confess our sins, but we are then given a sense of hope in the Lord -- For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17)

I am so grateful to You, O Lord, that You are a God of love, and a God of hope. In our fleeting lives, that is all that we can hang on to. Amen.

pearlie