Three letter word

One of the most important words in the English language only has three letters.  This word is utilized almost every day, but it is taken for granted when acknowledging power and importance.  This word is one that you normally wouldn’t pay any attention to.  In fact, it’s skipped over more times than not in a sentence because we see it so often in our writings.  What’s the word? 

Ready?  Here it is:

and

See.  I told you.  It’s not a word that you would normally place a lot of emphasis on.  In fact, I bet you were probably let down when you read the word.  Bear with me, though.  Let me give you my reasoning. 

The word “and” implies equal importance.  It gives credence to the item coming both before it AND (see, I told you it was important) after it.  It gives the impression that there is something more than what is stated at the beginning of a phrase.  Here’s why this little word is important. 

What if…

Jesus had only said “Take up your cross.”  No “Follow me.”  What would the life of a Christian look like?  It SHOULD look like someone who strives every day to follow in the footsteps of the Master.  If that little word was not there, our daily living would not have as much emphasis in Christ’s eyes as our profession of Him. 

What if…

Jesus had said “Go into all of the world.”  No “And preach…”  Again, what would the life of a Christian look like.  We would base our evangelism STRICTLY on the life that we lead (sound familiar?).  Instead, we are called to also PREACH the word.  JUST as important as “going.”  So what does ”preaching” look like?  This will be the subject of a few sermons down the line. 

What if…

Prayer stood alone.  No fasting.  We’ll explore this one on Sunday…