“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Thought
When I think about my Dad, I always remember a man of faith. We grew up knowing that Dad’s faith was fundamental to him. His day always began with a time of reading his bible and prayer and this did not change whether we were at home or away on holiday. We never knew what he prayed about, his relationship with his heavenly Father was very private. Even the prayer he said before he ate his breakfast was just between the two of them, the rest of us were tucking in to our breakfast long before dad had finished his grace.
When, as children, we were on holiday together, we would always go to a local church on Sunday. This was sometimes a Salvation Army service but at other times it would be a small village church with only very few people in attendance. Many were the times when during the hymns dad’s rather loud singing voice could be heard above the rest of the congregation, something which as children we didn’t always appreciate. However, I am often reminded of those days when I am in our own rather small church and now it is my voice that can be heard.
I remember listening to many of his sermons where he would have three main points all beginning with the same letter in order to make it easier for the congregation to remember. If I were preaching a sermon about Dad, I would talk about his life of devotion, dedication and discipline as my three points and how they continued throughout his life. Even near the end he could still be found each day spending time in prayer and reading his bible. He was not the most chatty of men, but he showed in his actions how important his faith was.
Friday of this week will be my dad’s funeral; he died just a few weeks ago, at home, in his bed just as he had wished. His life had been a long one, he was 87, and it had been one of devotion to God. The bible reading from John is one that he chose to be read at the funeral. The song I have chosen is one that he regularly used in his services in order to illustrate how he lived his life. There is now a large gap in our lives without him here but my faith has been shaped by his and that is the greatest gift that he has left me.
May we reflect on those people who have been part of our lives and have helped us along our Christian journey. May we thank God for them and ask that we too can be such people to those that we know.
Prayer
Father God, we thank you for the many saints that have been part of our lives. Help us to be instrumental in the Christian journey of those that we know.
Amen