Every Life Is A Sermon--No Preaching Required

I was at a funeral of the brother of a dear friend, Amber Gray Howard. She and her family were devastated by the passing of her brother, Christopher Richard Gray, after he had struggled with health challenges for years. Despite dealing with multiple health conditions, Chris was able to live a very fulfilling life before being "called home" at the young age of 22 after a final battle with cancer. I listened as a high school coach, his mother, and others paid tributes to this amazing young man who walked everywhere he went, despite being in constant pain. This man's mother, Jodi, talked about the book Charlie's Monument by Blaine M. Yorgason as she described how much her son had overcome.

During one of the addresses, the speaker referenced a scripture talking about how maladies were once seen as curses and the result of sin. I felt something deeply as this scripture was shared from Luke 9:1-3:

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was ablind from his birth.

And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

The Savior then declared, "I am the light of the world" and healed this man who was blind. Truly, this man's life allowed the power of God to be made manifest through him.

I sat at this beautiful funeral with a deep sorrow for a life cut show short but an appreciation for all of the lives he touched by "living a sermon" that could be seen and shared. Truly God's love and power had been made manifest by this wonderful man.

It was at this point in 2005 that I first had the idea that "every life is a sermon" with powerful teachings and that the cumulation of lessons we learn through life's experiences becomes a beautiful sermon that each of us we carry with us. Regardless of how flawed and broken we are as examples or recipients, we can all learn something from our interactions with others.

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My wife, Kelly, isn't in love with the preachy domain name, LifeSermons.com, but I assured her that the site wasn't about being preachy but rather celebrating the extraordinary acts of ordinary people in creating and leaving a legacy for others.

I don't have a great photo for this post, so I'll just introduce you to my family with a photo. You will learn a bit more about each of my children as this site progresses.