A Tribute to a Godly Man

When I started writing this blog I determined that I would always write positive things, things that are lovely and of good report. I will continue to do so today by telling you about a wonderful funeral I attended yesterday. Yep. Funeral.

It looked typical: dozens of flower arrangements near the coffin, family members dressed in their Sunday-best, a guest book to sign and funeral directors hovering about. It would have been just like many other funerals to honor an older man except the widow was not trudging about wearing black and crying, the relatives did not greet visitors with glum, hopeless faces and in the coffin, next to the white haired gentleman, lay a shofar horn. This man was my Uncle Michael: a faithful marine, husband, father and lover of Jesus.

During the ceremony, many of us crossed to the altar of the church to testify of this great man's life: one peppered with love and support. He loved everyone he met and they loved him. He was a gentle man who followed Jesus' example and gave his life to His service. He prayed for his three beautiful daughters daily, helped people at his church, smuggled Bibles into China, walked the streets of New York to feed the homeless and even took time to rejoice with me when Scarlett was born. The last ten years of his life were darker as he had Alzheimer's and then was confined to a nursing home for the last 5, but these dark years could not overshadow the beauty that we remember of him.

Scarlett wrote something to read during the funeral. It went a little like this: "My Uncle Michael died on Saturday. He was a marine during the Korean War. At first he didn't know about Jesus, but then Aunt Roberta told him about Jesus. Now he is in heaven, not sick anymore."

Toward the end of the service, the pastor, with a quivering voice, overcome by the amount of sincerity spoken, whispered to the Lord the same thing that many of us were thinking, "Lord, that I may leave such a legacy as this man did." His legacy was not that a lot of people thought he was great, but that we could all see how much he truly loved Jesus. We did not grieve like those without hope yesterday, but rejoiced with the angles as a Godly marine made it home to hear the words that we all would like to hear one day: "Well done my good and faithful servant."