There are many things that stand out about my grandfather as I think about the section of life that I have had the opportunity to spend with him. Then there are a couple memories that stand out above the rest. One of those are when I was younger and Grandpa sat with me at the dinner table and he told me stories about his time in Iwo Jima. Another was less than two weeks before he passed away, when I had the privilege of taking communion with him for his last time on this side of heaven.
There are several more memories I could share about my grandpa that I will treasure for the rest of my days on earth. Those who knew him all could. There are countless ways that he has touched each one of us. I believe that I can say, without hesitation, that each one of those memories had one underlying theme: Love God with all your heart, soul and mind; and love others as you love yourself.
Grandpa has always been one of my spiritual heroes. As I’ve grown in knowing my grandfather better and as I’ve grown to know my Heavenly Father better, I’ve begun to understand why. Christ, to him, was not a person in a picture in a church or a character in a storybook that sat on his shelf. Grandpa wasn’t a theologian. He would have been the first to admit that. But, he loved God with all of his heart. He sought to know God as best as he possibly could.
In college, I had a talk with him about his spiritual journey. I wanted to know why and how he was such a godly man. I was perplexed because I was hard pressed to find a man, even among a school of theologians, who had such an unadulterated love for God. During our discussion, I had come to find that it was because he a relationship with Christ. When he was a young man, he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. Even my grandpa, as good as a man as he was, knew he needed Christ to be free from the bondage of sin.
Because of this relationship with Christ and love for God, it overflowed into his relationship with all those who surrounded him. I don’t know that there is anyone who has met my grandpa that hasn’t been deeply touched by his love and commitment to God and to his family. These were not obligations to him, but were the things he found the most pleasure in. Ultimately, it was the Fruit of the Spirit being manifested in him.
I have no doubt in my mind that we whose lives have crossed paths with his could go on for days sharing our fondest memories with him, whether it be hearing stories of his time in the war, sitting with him around the camp fire out at the camp grounds, spending time with him on Christmas nights, playing games around the dinner table in the evenings and the list could go on. But, I could think of no greater testament of my grandfather’s life than to see everyone who knew him grow closer to God because of the life that he lived.
Death is but a veil.
Hiding that which is to come;
Presence with Yahweh.
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