"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." 1 Corinthians 11:1
My friend Harold Anderson, the patriarch of our local church, died on Thursday. Harold was 91 years old.
When Harold died no one said "Too soon" or "What a waste." Harold lived a long, full, productive, faithful life. He lived a life worth imitating and, though he wasn't my relative and perhaps this isn't my place, I want to share some things about Harold that a Christian should imitate.
1) Harold Budgeted Missional Kindness
Hundreds of people through the years went to lunch their first Sunday at Grace Baptist Church with Harold and his wife Janet. I was one of those that went to eat at Hy-Vee with the Andersons right after Sunday service. I was 18 and they were in their 70's, but age differences didn't matter. They wanted to help visitors of any age or background feel welcome. So, I went to eat with them and had such a great time with these kind people that I never visited another church in Waverly. Grace, at that time, didn't have a pastor, but they did have Harold and Janet, so it was a church worth staying put in.
Taking visitors out to lunch was a priority to them. Their son told me they didn't have a budget line for this, but to say 'yes' to this they had to say 'no' to things they might have wanted for themselves.
Do you budget for missional kindness or do you spend every dime you make on your needs and pleasures?
2) Harold Welcomed the Lonely Into His Family
Harold had a large family by biology. He had a much larger family if all the non-biological members were included. The Andersons seemed to have a knack for allowing the lonely into their family (Psalm 68:6). Many in the church called him Grandpa and Janet Grandma and they treated so many as unofficial children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Have you made your family open to the lonely that God desires to put into families?
3) Harold was Faithful
Harold sacrificially loved the same woman for 71 years in the covenant of marriage. In fact, almost every time you read Harold above and below this you can add "and Janet". They were a team and so utterly one after nearly three quarters of a century of marriage. There weren't many anniversary dances that they weren't the last ones standing.
He was a charter member of Grace Baptist Church in 1964 and for 59 years kept his covenant to Grace. I have seen many faithful people come and go in churches through the years and there is nothing inherently wrong with moving churches, but there is something so good and pure about this kind of devotion to the local church. I have friends and family members that are church planters and I'm sure that if you asked them if they could have someone with an MDiv or someone like Harold, they would pick a man half as faithful as Harold every day of the week.
"His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." Matthew 25:21
What areas in life have you been called into faithfulness?
The day Harold died, both before and after his passing, I had an older song stuck in my head: "Thank You" by Ray Boltz. Harold wasn't one that was asked to teach adult Sunday School or to preach or to lead the signing; rather, Harold gave to the Lord from the pew, from his house, from a truck cab and from his heart. If there's a lesson to be learned from Harold's life it's that greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven often looks, as Eugene Peterson said, like simple, long obedience in the same direction. Harold's life was great. He took his talents and faithfully maximized them for his Master. I, for one, will consider how I can follow his example as he followed Christ's and I invite you to do the same today.
