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Gentleness vs.Harshness
"Showing consideration and personal concern for others"
GENTLENESS - A One-Minute Testimonial Announcement
Faith Committee, Character Council of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky
Contributed from Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations
WORDS OF AN OLD WOMAN
Dr. Alexander Maclaren used to tell of a man of great intellectual power whom he longed to win. To do so the famous preacher preached a whole series of sermons dealing with intellectual difficulties. To the doctor’s delight, the man came shortly afterward and said he had become a convinced Christian and he wanted to join the church. Overjoyed, the doctor said, “And which of my sermons was it that removed your doubts?”
“Your sermons?” said the other. “It wasn’t any of your sermons. The thing that set me thinking was that a poor woman came out of your church beside me and stumbled on the steps. When I put out my hand to help her, she smiled and said ‘thank you’ and then added, ‘Do you love Jesus Christ my blessed Savior? He means everything to me.’ I did not then, but I thought about it. I found I was on the wrong road. I still have many intellectual difficulties, but now He means everything to me, too.”
[Reproduced with permission from Encylopedia of 15,000 Illustrations, by Paul Lee Tan, Communications, Inc., Dallas, TX, 1998, #7171]
[Editor's note: Dr. Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910) was a Baptist minister in England
where His sermons drew vast congregations and where he acquired the reputation of "the
prince of expository preachers." His methods of subdivision and analogies drawn from
nature and life have been widely imitated ever since.]
This material is published by the Faith Committee of the Character Council of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Reproduction and Adaptation is encouraged.
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