Faith is just an expression

I was catching up on some blog-reading and started to respond to a blog and realized my response was long enough to be a blog itself... not surprising - I sometimes have a problem shutting up.

The blog was from my niece and she was commenting on my father's (her grandpa) death. Her comment was that she wasn't there when he died but heard that he was very much at peace with the idea of death... yet she had never seen any outward expression of his faith.

I thought about this and realized - neither have I. She continued on to say that she recently attended a church service and things like bible verses and sermons weren't what caught her attention - it was the "little things" that touched her. That's when I realized how my daddy expressed his faith every day that I knew him - by little things.

I grew up sitting in church between my mama and daddy. Same pew, same seat, for at least 17 years. My mama would hang on every word of the sermon, prayers, and hymns. She can quote any Bible verse, tell you any Bible story, and most of the hymns. She has many Bibles, most ragged and worn from daily use.

My daddy would sit and church and observe. I don't know that he heard all the sermons, maybe he even heard a "different version" than my mama. I never heard him quote any verses.

However, when I hear the term "good and faithful servant" - that's my daddy. He served God by serving his church, his country, and his family.

He was a song leader, he was a committee member, he paid more than his 'required 10%' tithes. He was a good and faithful servant to his church.

He was an air traffic controller in WW2. He was in Germany, France, and Belgium. He had stories of landing on beaches in Germany, touring the awful concentration camps with President Truman (i think that's who it was!) He was a good and faithful servant to his country.

Father's Day sermons are always fascinating to me. I never listened to them until after I was married and well on my way to divorce. I always wanted to bring my ex into church and say, "SEE?? THAT'S HOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO IT!!!" My daddy? The PERFECT example of 'how you're supposed to do it'. He was a faithful husband, good provider, good counselor, good fishin' buddy, good at everything. Except discipline. He made my mama do that! He was a good and faithful servant to his family.

I guess my point is this: I see people who are obviously devoted to their faith - prayer, church, Bible studies, etc... but can be quick to judge other people and their actions. I see people like my daddy who weren't always hanging on every sermon, maybe didn't bless the food when mama wasn't around, but would never judge anyone without first judging himself, and would always help someone in need. Always. Now, of these two people, is there one less deserving of Heaven? I can't imagine the God I worship choosing between the two.

He wasn't perfect and he made mistakes (I never saw them, but I'm sure he did), but he was a good and faithful servant and I know God is pleased.

One more thing: one of my favorite quotes (by anonymous) is:
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.
Live you life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.