Christian Living
I tend to avoid funerals or “celebration of life” events as we call them in the Christian tradition. Beyond the sadness and loss that make up the aroma of those gatherings, there is the knowledge of one more in my future. My time will come, and I suppose the reminder of this truth makes me uncomfortable. I cannot help but wonder what mine will be like. But my resistance towards these events did not prevent me from joining one recently and I am grateful for the experience.
My community lost a good man recently. John passed in his sleep while he was in hospice, resting from a life that started in 1938 and ended in 2018. Eighty years is a long life and John had a full one with adventure, fortune and family. John left his mark on the world that will not be soon forgotten. I suspect that of all the people in the memorial service for John, I had the least knowledge about him.
Many people spoke for and about John at the service. Long-time friends and family shared stories and their fondness of a man I would never get to know. A part of me wanted to speak but, feeling unworthy, I held back and remained quiet. But tonight, I cannot sleep, my thoughts continue to return to John and demand some measure of satisfaction to be heard.
I only knew John for a couple of years. We attended the same church and a Wednesday night fellowship. Beyond these brief moments I rarely saw John as our lives traversed on different roads. But even in our short time together John made an impact into my life. He was an impressive man who inspired me in profound ways. John had a quiet way about him, but he was impossible to miss when he was present.
John was an old man by the time we found each other. His body was a tapestry of hard work, suffering and abuse. He was very thin and seemed to lose weight every time I saw him. Hugging John felt like holding on to a bag of bones and cords that might easily be crushed under too much pressure. But there was a strength in him that always took me by surprise.
When John entered a room, he moved slowly and with obvious discomfort. But there was always a look on his face that made me smile. His eyes twinkled, and he smiled as if he had just done something mischievous. He was not going to confess to a thing, but was waiting for someone to discover what he had done. John would share with me the work he was doing that week and it was never easy work. Mowing acres of grass, mending fences, hauling firewood for friends and tending to animals were some examples. John was in high demand for his time, offering it freely albeit it cost him dearly.
John made a fortune in business but lived a simple life. He served the community daily by loading up thousands of pounds of food for distribution to various shelters and individuals. When he was no longer physically able to fulfill these tasks, they were handed off to other brothers. Today no one is exactly sure where John’s influence reached but it was vast. Three men are needed to fill the gap where John once stood. That is an impressive achievement for a man of eighty years.
In age where too many men are convinced that the grave is the only adventure left to them, John was unique. Many times, I wished that I was a young man just starting out in life and could tether myself to a man like John. The wisdom I would have reaped by doing so is incalculable. That old man could have used some young strong hands to walk side by side with him, but John worked alone and without fanfare. The thought of the lost opportunity for young men in these days strikes me to the heart.
No one lives as long as John did and avoids suffering, loss or betrayal. John experienced much, and he did great things. He made mistakes in judgement at times. He made friends and lost others. He helped others and caused others pain. He was a man, as broken and wounded as any other. But these things, the good and the bad, the light and the dark, sit together on one side of the scale of God’s judgment. They tip the scale down but praise to God that His grace sits on the other side of that scale, tilting it back upwards. God’s grace and mercy is more than enough, and I know that John is enjoying an eternity in the peace of God’s presence.
I wonder what John is doing right now. I imagine him in Heaven but when I do he is not sitting under a tree watching the clouds go by. I never envision him being idle. I suspect he has a shovel nearby and perhaps a sharp knife in his pocket and a list of tasks in his hand. I can see John looking around and asking, ‘Ok, God. What do you need me to do today?” One thing I know for sure is that John is doing something good in the Kingdom.
17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” ~John 5:17 (NIV)
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