A Life of Love

Title: A Eulogy for a Loving Family Man

Scripture: Romans 8:38

In his book, “The Case for Christ,” Lee Strobel tells of interviewing Professor of Theology and Philosophy Gary Habermas. He asked about the importance of the resurrection for Christians. Professor Habermas began answering the question theologically, but then turned reflective as he began to speak of the death of his wife. He said one afternoon he sat on his porch looking off to the side at nothing in particular. His wife was upstairs dying and except for a few weeks, she had been home through it all. It was an awful time and the worst thing that could possibly happen. He then turned and looked at Lee and said, “But do you know what was amazing? My students would call me and say, ‘At a time like this, aren’t you glad about the resurrection?’ As sober as those circumstances were, I had to smile for two reasons. First, my students were trying to cheer me up with my own teaching and second, it worked!”

As he sat on the porch, he’d picture Job who went through all of that terrible stuff and asked questions of God, but then God turned the tables and asked him a few questions. “I knew if God were to come to me, I’d only ask one question: ‘Lord, why is my wife up there in bed dying?’ And I think God would respond by asking gently, ‘Did I raise my Son from the dead?’ And I’d say, ‘Come on Lord, I’ve written seven books on the topic! Of course I know he was raised from the dead! But I want to know about my wife!’ I think God would keep coming back to the same question: ‘Did I raise my Son from the dead?’ until I got the point. And then he said, “The resurrection says that if Jesus was raised 2000 years ago, there’s an answer to my wife’s death. And do you know what? If the resurrection would get me through that, it can get me through anything. It was good for AD 30 and it’s good for now and it’s good beyond that….I believe that with all my heart. If there’s a resurrection, there’s a heaven. If Jesus was raised, my wife was raised. And I will be someday too. Then I’ll see them both.

We are here today because of love: our love for _______ and God’s love for him and us as evidenced in the gift of resurrection. It’s because we love people so deeply that their absence makes us hurt so much. Death is something that separates us and when we are separated from someone we love, we feel as though a part of us has been cut off. But while death does separate us from those we love, Scripture tells us that there is one thing from which death can never separate us, and that is the love of God. Romans 8:38 says, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The Nature of God's Love

What kind of love is the love of God? Well, to begin with, it is a love that seeks. We may not like the comparison but Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way.” That means we are prone to wander. Psalm 23 speaks of God as the Good Shepherd and Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep" (John 10:14-15). Jesus describes both God and himself as one who knows his flock and whose flock knows him and his voice.

Jesus goes on to tell the Parable of Lost Sheep and the lesson is that the shepherd didn’t wait for the lost sheep to wander home. He wasn’t passive but actively went out seeking the lost sheep. He searches everywhere and goes to the greatest length to find the lost sheep, even at the risk of great personal danger and harm. And he doesn’t return home until he is found. And just to prove His point, Jesus goes to the cross to save you and me. And then Jesus says, “I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish.” We have a God who is in the business of seeking the lost. In fact, that’s why he sent His son. God has a passion and joy for seeking and finding that which is the lost, his sheep, you and me. That’s His love for us.

God's Love Saves

God’s love not only seeks, it also saves. Jesus said of himself, “The Son of Man has come to seek and save that which is lost.” A saving love, not only accepts us as we are but also seeks to bring out the best is each person it meets. Saving love wants to make life better for those to whom it is directed. God loves us as we are but he loves us too much to leave us in our own ways. His saving love seeks us, saves us, transforms us and then is lived out through us as we become people who become like Jesus and reflect His love, care and concern for a needy world.

We’re here today because of our love for _______ and because of God’s love for us as evidenced in the resurrection. But we are also here because of God’s love in _______ which has been shared with us. _______ was a sheep in Jesus’ fold and knew the Shepherd’s voice all of his life. And it was the love of Shepherd for him and for all of his sheep which marked and guided _______’s life throughout all of his years as he loved us like the Shepherd loves us.

Evidence of Love in Life

_______’s love for Christ and the love of Christ was evident in three things: the priorities of his life. First was his love for God. A lifelong Methodist, _______ was not just someone who went through the motions of the faith and attending worship. Jesus wasn’t just a part of his life, He was his life and it guided everything he did and everything he said and we have been blessed because of that. He always was in worship, always led prayer before dinner, like his father and grandfather before him, and always leaned into and relied upon his faith, no matter what he faced. His faith was evident to the very end because even as he faced death, he was never scared or worried. He knew the Shepherd’s voice and he knew that the Shepherd gives eternal life and thus _______ knew The Shepherd’s sheep will never perish... keep reading with free account

A Life of Love

Title: A Eulogy for a Loving Family Man

Scripture: Romans 8:38

In his book, “The Case for Christ,” Lee Strobel tells of interviewing Professor of Theology and Philosophy Gary Habermas. He asked about the importance of the resurrection for Christians. Professor Habermas began answering the question theologically, but then turned reflective as he began to speak of the death of his wife. He said one afternoon he sat on his porch looking off to the side at nothing in particular. His wife was upstairs dying and except for a few weeks, she had been home through it all. It was an awful time and the worst thing that could possibly happen. He then turned and looked at Lee and said, “But do you know what was amazing? My students would call me and say, ‘At a time like this, aren’t you glad about the resurrection?’ As sober as those circumstances were, I had to smile for two reasons. First, my students were trying to cheer me up with my own teaching and second, it worked!”

As he sat on the porch, he’d picture Job who went through all of that terrible stuff and asked questions of God, but then God turned the tables and asked him a few questions. “I knew if God were to come to me, I’d only ask one question: ‘Lord, why is my wife up there in bed dying?’ And I think God would respond by asking gently, ‘Did I raise my Son from the dead?’ And I’d say, ‘Come on Lord, I’ve written seven books on the topic! Of course I know he was raised from the dead! But I want to know about my wife!’ I think God would keep coming back to the same question: ‘Did I raise my Son from the dead?’ until I got the point. And then he said, “The resurrection says that if Jesus was raised 2000 years ago, there’s an answer to my wife’s death. And do you know what? If the resurrection would get me through that, it can get me through anything. It was good for AD 30 and it’s good for now and it’s good beyond that….I believe that with all my heart. If there’s a resurrection, there’s a heaven. If Jesus was raised, my wife was raised. And I will be someday too. Then I’ll see them both.

We are here today because of love: our love for _______ and God’s love for him and us as evidenced in the gift of resurrection. It’s because we love people so deeply that their absence makes us hurt so much. Death is something that separates us and when we are separated from someone we love, we feel as though a part of us has been cut off. But while death does separate us from those we love, Scripture tells us that there is one thing from which death can never separate us, and that is the love of God. Romans 8:38 says, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The Nature of God's Love

What kind of love is the love of God? Well, to begin with, it is a love that seeks. We may not like the comparison but Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way.” That means we are prone to wander. Psalm 23 speaks of God as the Good Shepherd and Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep" (John 10:14-15). Jesus describes both God and himself as one who knows his flock and whose flock knows him and his voice.

Jesus goes on to tell the Parable of Lost Sheep and the lesson is that the shepherd didn’t wait for the lost sheep to wander home. He wasn’t passive but actively went out seeking the lost sheep. He searches everywhere and goes to the greatest length to find the lost sheep, even at the risk of great personal danger and harm. And he doesn’t return home until he is found. And just to prove His point, Jesus goes to the cross to save you and me. And then Jesus says, “I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish.” We have a God who is in the business of seeking the lost. In fact, that’s why he sent His son. God has a passion and joy for seeking and finding that which is the lost, his sheep, you and me. That’s His love for us.

God's Love Saves

God’s love not only seeks, it also saves. Jesus said of himself, “The Son of Man has come to seek and save that which is lost.” A saving love, not only accepts us as we are but also seeks to bring out the best is each person it meets. Saving love wants to make life better for those to whom it is directed. God loves us as we are but he loves us too much to leave us in our own ways. His saving love seeks us, saves us, transforms us and then is lived out through us as we become people who become like Jesus and reflect His love, care and concern for a needy world.

We’re here today because of our love for _______ and because of God’s love for us as evidenced in the resurrection. But we are also here because of God’s love in _______ which has been shared with us. _______ was a sheep in Jesus’ fold and knew the Shepherd’s voice all of his life. And it was the love of Shepherd for him and for all of his sheep which marked and guided _______’s life throughout all of his years as he loved us like the Shepherd loves us.

Evidence of Love in Life

_______’s love for Christ and the love of Christ was evident in three things: the priorities of his life. First was his love for God. A lifelong Methodist, _______ was not just someone who went through the motions of the faith and attending worship. Jesus wasn’t just a part of his life, He was his life and it guided everything he did and everything he said and we have been blessed because of that. He always was in worship, always led prayer before dinner, like his father and grandfather before him, and always leaned into and relied upon his faith, no matter what he faced. His faith was evident to the very end because even as he faced death, he was never scared or worried. He knew the Shepherd’s voice and he knew that the Shepherd gives eternal life and thus _______ knew The Shepherd’s sheep will never perish.

I believe that one of the greatest witnesses of a person’s death is not only how they live, but also how they die. And _______’s faith made all the difference as he faced death and to those around him were able to witness his faith and see the assurance, comfort, hope and strength it brought.

Second was _______’s love for his wife, his children, and his grandchildren. He was a devoted and loving husband and father. _______ met his wife in Sunday School at the age of 12 at Carrollton Methodist Church. And even though they were in different Sunday School classes, they kept looking at each other. And little did they know, they would keep looking at each other for the next 70 years. They dated all through school, got married and eventually celebrated many years of marriage together. _______ was a devoted husband and an awesome father and grandfather. He loved getting out in the yard and playing with the kids. Whatever season it was, that was the sport being played with _______ right in the middle of it: football, basketball, baseball and even track with hurdles. He loved fishing and shrimping and boating. He loved family gatherings and enjoyed spending time with his loved ones. He loved when all of the family was together at his house, affectionately known as the family gathering place. His family were the center of his life. And in so many ways, he was the model father and grandfather.

But we are also here because of the third love of _______’s life and that’s his love and concern for others. He was genuine and kind and a good friend to all. This was as much an expression of his faith as everything else in his life. I think the best evidence of this are the comments shared on the guestbook online. They say the impact of a life is measured by the lives you’ve touched. _______ left a wide wake with his life and impacted many as he lived out his faith. And for that we are grateful.

Conclusion

Walter’s life gives testimony and witness to what is truly important in this life. We are thankful for what we have received, to know that life and faith is about loving those closest to us as we have been loved by God, to bless others and to love our families. And so as we are surrounded by his love for us today and the love of God. May we be thankful for the time we had with _______, the impact he had on our lives and the lessons, the memories and that of _______ which we carry with us this day forward.

Now is a time to give thanks for _______, all that he did for us and how he touched and blessed our lives, making us who we are today. May we take a moment now to bow our heads, close our eyes and give thanks to the life which has been shared with us…. May God be with you, bless you and keep you even unto these days and always. Amen.