A churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of the
newspaper and complained
that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday.
I've gone for 30 years
now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard
something like 3,000 sermons.
But for the life of me I can't remember a single one
of them. So I think I'm
wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by
giving sermons at all."
This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the
Editor" column, much
to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks
until someone wrote this
clincher:
"I've been married for 30 years now. In
that time my wife has
cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I
cannot recall the entire
menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know
this: They all
nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do
my work.
If my wife
had not given me those meals, I would be physically
dead today. Likewise,
if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would
be spiritually dead today!"