I want to express my thanks and the thanks of the members of my family
for your support during the illness and death of my mother. Thank you for
your prayers, phone calls and other expressions of support and sympathy. I
was overwhelmed by the number of friends from the association who were at
the funeral yesterday. Your expressions of love moved our hearts and gave us
strength.
During the last several weeks I have learned a lot from our recent
experiences. First, talk about the things that are important with those that
you love. Do your loved ones know about the depth of your faith, what you
want done for end life issues, and the depth of your love. Our mother was
careful not to leave anything unsaid that was important. She talked openly
about her faith and her eternal expectations.
Second, share your faith openly, regularly and faithfully. With whom
would you like to share eternity? Jim Crooks, in a visit to the nursing
home, shared a vision of a crowd of loved ones gathering for the arrival of
my mother. I can envision the word going out in heaven, "Flora, will arrive
in about an hour." Evangelism is about sharing our faith with those with
whom we would like to share eternity. Our Lord has given us a commission for
the whole world.
Third, what we say has to match the way we live our lives. Real
evangelism is relational. Paul Cho taught his members to live lives serving
others in such a way that others would ask, "Why are you doing that?" This
then became the opportunity to share a significant witness. Lives are
impacted by a life-style that is an aroma of Christ. If we walk closely to
him, our verbal witness has a greater impact. Mother was not one who did a
lot of verbal witness but others listened when she did share her faith
because of her lifestyle.
Fourth, the person who is most likely to influence another in the matters
of faith is a parent. However, that influence will be either positive or
negative. Parents leave a stamp from earliest memories throughout life. Our
actions send messages that we receive even subconsciously that form the
foundation for faith or lack of it.
We who are part of the family of faith need to remember that what we are
speaks to those who are around us whether family, coworkers, or social
contacts. The church of the 21
