| The Glory of the Common Life |
Chapter 13 |
Page 5 |
Perhaps we do not appreciate the sacredness of this part of the minister’s life and work. He is the confidential friend of thousands of people, who come to him with their anxieties, their perplexities, their questions, their disappointments, their failures, their fears and doubts, their sorrows and their sins. His study is a confessional. Protestants do not require the confession of people in their churches, and yet there are times in the life of every one of us when we need to go voluntarily to a trusted pastor and tell him the burden that is on our hearts. To many persons this is one of the most sacred privileges of life. Ofttimes hope would die if it were not possible to find some one to whom to speak, to find human sympathy and wise counsel in days when the burden is too heavy to be borne alone, or the way cannot be found without a guide. Even the strongest people need sometimes a friend who will stand by them, who will be gentle, patient, and forbearing with them when they have stumbled and sinned. Thousands go down when they have failed, because no love comes and no hand is reached up to help them to start again.
Ofttimes people need advice. They do not know what to do or where to go. In such times a wise, sympathetic pastor may save a life from doubt, a soul from despair. People are inexperienced. They lack wisdom. They are dazed and confused by their circumstances, and need a friend who understands life better than they do. It is not material help they require – it is guidance, inspiration, direction, encouragement. Two persons have fallen apart through some misunderstanding. A wise, gentle, and tactful pastor can bring them together and make their lives one again. A man has some trouble in his business, and his minister cheers him and makes him brave to overcome his discouragement and go on to success. One falls into a bad habit which is sapping his life and ruining his career. The minister comes, not with reproof, but with love and grief and strong help, and saves him. One fails and falls and is almost in despair, and the minister is like Christ to lift him up, to save him.
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