03.31
Watch a man die and you’ll know how he lived. I’ve seen many people die. Some are so fearful that they insist on being resuscitated, even though their body is ravaged with disease. Some spew anger on everyone close. Others stew in their bitterness and resentment. But Randy Jones was different. Randy was a friend of mine in Leesburg. A few years older than me, he was diagnosed with melanoma cancer several years ago. Even in his last days, Randy oozed with the Fruit of the Holy Spirit… love, joy, and peace. Randy walked with God. And even though his life was cut short, he died well because he lived well. He cherished the love and forgiveness of Jesus and clung to the promise of heaven.
Watch a man die and you’ll know how he lived. The first century soldiers who executed criminals knew this all too well. They crucified the dregs of society and saw evil spew out of these criminals, even as they gasped their last breath. That’s why Jesus shocked them. Even as He was dying, the Fruit of the Spirit radiated through him. That’s why one of the guards watching Jesus said, “Surely this man was the Son of God.”
Watch a man die and you’ll know how he lived. Randy Jones lived a humble, joy-filled life, oozing God all over people. Randy was far from perfect, but he was forgiven and grateful for it… even when he took his last breath.
What about you? As you think about Easter, what are you grateful for? There’s one word that jumps off the page at me when I think of what I’m grateful for at Easter. I’ll share it in tomorrow’s blog. In the meantime, keep blogging your thoughts…
I too have come to grips with death of a close friend. This one happened to be my brother. He too died young, at the age of 26, leaving a wife and young daughter. He would have been 52 on Easter Sunday. But he lived for the Lord. He loved to fly from an early age and worked to learn to fly, eventually becoming a flight instructor. He shared his love of flight with students, but he also shared his love of Christ. At his funeral, a student of his came to me and told me how he came to Christ through my brother’s witness. My brother carried a New Testament in his hip pocket every day and used that to lead this student to Christ. I have often wondered how far that message has spread, just from that one individual’s life; and what that person’s life would have been like were it not for my brother’s own faith and commitment to share Christ. In life, my older brother always seemed to go before me in trying new things. In death, he has done this as well. It is actually easy to say that I look forward to that reunion, at the feet of our Savior.
I have heard from family of my grandfathers passing. He lived in Indiana and we were living in Tennessee at the time, so we weren’t able to be with him. He was a strong christian who even on his death bed, dying from congestive heart failure, he was ministering to the nurses, doctors, friends and family there to say goodbye.
What a legacy he left with those around him at that final hour. I hope and pray that I too will have the faith and courage to overlook my own insecurities and be a witness for Christ as I leave to go meet Him face to face.
“God is real, He loves you dearly and wants you to love Him the same.” Howard Kinnaman
The Cross
Mark 16:7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’
Jesus, knowing the distress Peter was in after doing the very thing he told Jesus he would never do, deny Him, sent for Peter by name.
It never ceases to amaze me how He knows me so much better than I know myself. When I am beating myself up over mistakes or blatant wrongs, He always opens His arms and says Come here, let me hold you for a while.
The amazement to me is that even though I do this, more frequently then I should, He’s always there.
What an AWESOME Father I have!
Thank You Jesus for the reason of this Easter celebration and for loving me, in-spite of me.
In His Grip!
You know what REALLY shows the faith and measure of a person, Ken? It’s how they let their CHILD die. In walking alongside several families with terminally ill children, there is a huge difference between those who have truly died to self and given it all to God and those who haven’t. And I have seen the earthly reward, that I didn’t even realize was part of the deal, in accepting the will of God. Peace… perfect peace. Opening the eyes of the heart allows one to see joy in sorrow and peace in spite of pain. It’s a beautiful thing…