On Monday, December, 27, 2010, at 10:35 am, my Grandpa, Kellogg Knapp, went to be with his Savior, Jesus Christ. This post is a tribute to him.
I believe my Grandpa was great because he found his greatest satisfaction in relationships. He was not concerned with worldly possessions, he knew that they only brought worry and trouble; instead, he possessed a wealth of friendships and relationships, and this brought him joy and peace. His first and most special love was for Jesus, followed closely by his love for his wife Lucille. Now, I would not consider Grandpa a book smart theologian who knew all the aspects of and defenses for all the doctrines in the Bible, but he was an experiential theologian that knew Jesus, loved him deeply, and knew that he would see him someday when he finally passed away. His comments about his Savior were often short and sometimes subtle, but they were frequent, interspersed through almost every conversation, heartfelt, and full of thankfulness to his Lord. Grandpa lived his theology and loved his Savior.
Grandpa had a way of making every person he met feel special. He always had time for people, they were never a bother to him, never inconvenienced him, and you always felt like he would rather talk to you than do anything else at that moment. I loved that about him. And… as everyone can testify, he was extremely funny.
A special bond that I believe I, personally, shared with my Grandfather, was the fact that both of us, in the prime of our lives, went overseas for the sake of something bigger than ourselves, for a cause. Psalm 102:18-22 – We both believe in freedom. A freedom for this generation and the ones to come to have the opportunity to worship the true God and his Son Jesus Christ. And we both believe that true freedom from our sin, freedom from the punishment of eternity in hell, and freedom from the cares of all the garbage in this life comes only through belief in Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross for us. Without Jesus, we have no hope in this life or in the life to come… Grandpa is EXPERIENCING this freedom and hope in full right now, whereas I continue to believe… that lucky dog (as he would say). Grandpa made every opportunity (even at the possibility of loosing his life in WW2) for us as a family to be able to first believe, and then to declare the praises of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Because this belief permeated his entire life, he exuded a quiet confidence in life. Growing up, I knew that my Grandpa wasn’t afraid of anything in life or in death, and I believe that this is because he knew that he belonged to Jesus whether in life or death and that Jesus would never let him go, no matter what the circumstances. This caused him not to worry about much, and that is why I believe that he was always smiling… confident that his life was in Jesus’ hands. Well, his confidence spurred me on to travel overseas and live among a primitive people group who were in spiritual darkness and who did not have the light of Jesus shining in their lives. But before I left, I remember sitting at Grandpa and Grandma’s kitchen table, worrying, and asking them if I should continue on this crazy journey and head overseas… everything was so unknown and I was fearful. They sat there over ice cream cones and told me about how God will never let you down; how God is your only back-up plan. They told me about how God had provided for them during the depression, after the war, and while raising three kids. They told me that if God was leading me to do this, that I should not fear whether or not he would provide, but to go trusting that he would. So I took my family, and we went… and we never lacked!
These are the qualities of my Grandfather that I wish to aspire to: To continue to live my life for Jesus, in dependence upon him, not worrying about the things of this life, but investing in the lives of others, to demonstrate to everyone in my life that they are special, because they ARE in the eyes of Jesus, and to not be afraid of new challenges in life because I am confidence that the same God who cared for my Grandfather is caring for me.
I love you Grandpa! I know you are now in the arms of Jesus and the Father is saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I pray that you are enjoying a hunting trip with your best friend, Jesus. And I pray that each and every life that you touched is like a gem which you can cast at the feet of your Savior because I know that you would rather give than receive. God bless you!
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