The backslider likes the preaching that wouldn't hit the side of a house, while the real disciple is delighted when the truth brings him to his knees.
Interpretation
This quote contrasts the indifference of those avoiding truth with the appreciation of those seeking genuine understanding.
Billy Sunday's quote reflects on the difference between those who shy away from genuine truths and the disciples who embrace them, even if it means facing uncomfortable realities. It suggests that true seekers of wisdom value the moral and spiritual revelations that can challenge or humble them, as opposed to those who prefer superficial teachings that do not provoke change or growth.
In practice
This quote would be perfect for a sermon discussing the importance of accepting difficult truths in one's faith journey.
Whenever a day comes when I can stand and preach God's Word without an agony of anxiety lest the people will not accept Christ; whenever a day comes when I can see men and women coming down the aisles without joy in my heart, I'll quit preaching.
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.
The saloon is a liar. It promises good cheer and sends sorrow.
I don't believe there are devils enough in hell to pull a boy out of the arms of a godly mother.
The trouble with many men is that they have got just enough religion to make them miserable. If there is not joy in religion, you have got a leak in your religion.
The church is not a dormitory for sleepers, it is an institution for workers; it is not a rest camp, it is a front line trench.
At nineteen, it seems to me, one has a right to be arrogant; time has usually not begun its stealthy and rotten subtractions. It takes away your hair and your jump-shot, according to a popular country song, but in truth it takes away a lot more than that.
Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am
Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.
Reading well is one of the greatest pleasures that solitude can afford you.
Time is more valuable than money, because time is irreplaceable.
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