

(Jesus said) "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16
Rebecca Pomroy was a nurse who helped Abraham Lincoln and his family when his sons Tad and Willie were ill.
One evening, a night when Lincoln decided to escape the worries of the country, he asked Mrs. Pomroy to attend the theater with him. She politely declined. Sometime later he asked a second time. That request was also met with a refusal. A third time Lincoln asked her to accompany him, but this time he added, "Mrs. Pomroy, it is counted an honor to sit in the president's box; I should like to ask you why you have refused."
Mrs. Pomroy replied this way. She said, "Mr. President, I am a Christian, and when I became such, I promised my Lord I would go no place where I could not take Him with me or ask His blessing. I could hardly do this at the theater, and for that reason I did not go."
Lincoln never asked her to the theater again.
On the other hand, those who were there report that quite often when they were going to a hospital, Lincoln would tell his coachman, "Drive a little slower." Then he would say to Mrs. Pomroy, "Tell me more of this Christ whom you serve."
There is, I believe, a lesson here.
As Jesus had instructed, Mrs. Pomroy let her light shine before a president and he saw her good deeds.
Hers is an example that I have seen repeated again and again.
Pastors may preach good sermons, great sermons, solidly Scriptural sermons. But the people in our congregation, with their actions, preach the first sermon that is ever heard or not heard by an unbeliever.
And if the congregation's first sermon is never preached, very often those unbelievers will never bother to come hear the pastor's message.
Now we who have met and follow the blessed Savior try to do what is right. We try to live as properly as we can as an ongoing hymn of thanksgiving to Him for all He has done. Our life of repentance is the least we can do for the Savior who died and rose so we might live.
But we also need to remember that we do what we do so the Holy Spirit might use us to touch others and to make them respond: "Tell me more of this Christ whom you serve."
God grant that our light shines and others see the Savior.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, I give thanks for all You have done for me. Now may I live my life to glorify You. Let my light shine so souls may be touched and others might see the greatness of Your love and the salvation You have won. In Your Name I ask it. Amen.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible Readings: Isaiah 47-49 Romans 9:1-15
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