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Topic: Discipleship (02/23/04)
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TITLE: Mute Discipleship By David Dawson 02/26/04 |
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"I don't know, Jim," replied Dr. Struck. "He just said that he wanted to talk to you before he died. And that could be anytime now. I'm glad you could come so soon. His daughter is in there with him. You can go on in."
As Jim entered the room, Sally Jones, Dale's daughter, stood to greet him. "Oh, Mr. Nelson, thank you so much for coming on such short notice." "Daddy will be very pleased. Please sit over here in front of him. I'm going to stretch my legs down the hall."
As Jim moved over and sat in the chair next to the bed, he could barely recognize Dale Jones. He had lost a lot of weight and was breathing very loud, labored gasps. He was a ghastly sight and Jim could tell that it wouldn't be long. He briefly thought of how horrendous cancer can be and grieved for Dale's pain. Not knowing what to say, Jim just sat there somberly looking toward Dale's face. Their eyes had not met yet and Jim was not altogether sure that Dale even knew he was there. After a brief time, Dale slowly looked at Jim and smiled.
"Hello Jim. Sorry you have to see me like this." Even Dale's efforts at speech appeared to be painful.
"Don't worry about that Dale," Jim replied. "I'm glad I'm here. Sally said you wanted to talk to me."
"Yes. Thanks for coming," Dale muttered. "I just wanted to tell you thanks before I move on to be with Jesus." - " It's only right that a man show proper appreciation. I'm just sorry I didn't say anything before now."
"What are you talking about?" Jim asked. "You don't need to thank me for anything."
"Oh yes I do, Jim. I've got a lot to be thankful for. You might not think it is much, but it has meant a lot to me." - "You see Jim, you may not have known it, but I have watched you for years. Even in High School I noticed you. You went to church like a lot of boys did, but you didn't just attend. It meant something to you. You tried to apply what they taught you and live your life like that." "And after you came back home from college, you acted the same in your business dealings." "Remember when I applied for that first loan to help start my siding business?"
"Yeah. When was that?," asked Jim. "About twenty-five years ago?"
"Twenty-eight," replied Dale. "And that business fed my family real well. Especially after Mary died." "And that's another thing, Jim. I got a lot of cards and flowers when Mary passed on, but not many visitors." "But you and that preacher who was at your church a few years ago came to the house to see me." "That meant a lot to me Jim."
"I'm glad it did Dale," said Jim.
"You know, I became a Christian at a tent revival when we were 12 years old, but my folks never would take me to church, and I guess I was too young to just go on my own." "I thought about asking you to drive out to our place to take me to church with you in high school, but since I was a bit of a loner, I guess I was too shy to ask."
"I'm sorry I didn’t do that on my own," Jim lamented.
"Don't worry about that now," Dale replied. "I just told you that to let you know that I have been a Christian since age 12, but I never had anyone to show me how to grow." "I've been listening to your new preacher on the radio, and he calls it discipleship. Teaching a fella to grow spiritually. Helping him to not just learn the Word, but to learn how to put it into practice in everyday life."
Dale paused for a mild coughing spell, then slowly continued.
"You discipled me without ever saying a word, Jim. I just wanted to say thanks."
"What do you mean Dale?," asked Jim. "I never did anything. Except for when you did business at the bank, I don't remember ever talking to you much." "I should have done better."
"No Jim, you did alright," Dale interrupted. "I always watched the way you were. The way you did business. The way you related to your wife and raised your kids. The way you served at your church and how you volunteered in the community." "Even how you've acted on the golf course. I was on the next fairway years ago, and you weren't having a very good day." "You acted the same there as you did everywhere else, and I started to pattern myself after you." "It wasn't until a few years later that I realized that you were patterning yourself after Jesus." "You discipled me without saying a word, Jim." "Mute discipleship"
"Mute discipleship?," whispered Jim.
"Yep," said Dale. "It spoke to me loud and clear Jim. Thanks."