Carey Dillinger, December, 1994
The Daily Commercial
My good friend Sam, passed away this week. You may have read his obituary in the paper, he was 95 years old. Mark A. Copeland, the former minister of the Michigan Avenue church of Christ (now known as the Beverly Shores church of Christ) delivered the eulogy at Sam's funeral. Much of the information included here was collected by Mark during the last ten years.
During his lifetime Sam held many jobs, including: rail splitter, wheat thresher, auctioneer, real estate broker, banker and property appraiser. While he changed jobs as frequently as the economy demanded it, he changed religions only once. In 1923, through careful consideration and many tears, Sam obeyed the gospel of Christ. Sam continued to practice his Christianity for the past three quarters of a century.
In the mid-seventies, Ella, his wife of over fifty years died. Sam lived out his remaining years a widower. He often found comfort for his personal loss in a poem Ella had slipped into his Bible before she passed on. You poetry aficionados out there may squirm a bit, but please read it from Sam's point of view.
The Rest of the Way Alone
(author unknown)
It isn't given to any of us,
To go all the way together.
However closely bound the flock,
The years must one day sever.
The ties that bind the loving group,
One goes then another -
And grieving doesn't help too much,
Be it husband , wife or brother.
It isn't given to any of us,
To be always with those most dear.
We one day reach the fork to the road -
One goes, while one stays here.
In our loneliness for those who are gone,
Don't forget the joys we have known.
The memory of them should light the road,
Though the rest of the way is - alone.
As the years without Ella went by, Sam would say, "Memories are among the greatest things we have."
Sam came to realize that memories were not all he possessed. Even though he had no wife, no children and no close relatives nearby, Sam found solace and companionship among his brethren and sisters in Christ. Even when he was in ill health, he visited the sick and the elderly and attended worship service. The church, which had been his spiritual family, now became his physical family as well.
I am sure I'll be corrected by the good folks at church if I'm wrong, but I believe Sam was a major part of the glue that has held our congregation together these past few years. Much communication between church members, during these years, can be attributed to checking up on Sam, visiting Sam, or discussing Sam's needs. We'll never forget our brother, Sam.
If Sam were alive and well, he would be preparing to attend church services this Sunday. Not because it is what the world calls Christmas, but because it is the Lord's Day. He knew that one or two Sundays a year cannot contain the amount of celebration required to do our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ justice. Besides the birth and resurrection of Christ, the New Testament would suggest that additional days or time periods of Jesus' existence are worthy of our attention.
First, we need to consider the preexistence of Christ. According to John's Gospel, chapter 1, Jesus is part of the Godhood and as such participated in creation. We need a day to celebrate our Creator.
Now what about Jesus as a child? Luke the second chapter indicates that He was an excellent child. Surely, that deserves at least one Sunday of celebration. We whoop it up at our house when our two offspring are excellent!
We need to examine His personal ministry while on this earth. He was the ultimate preacher. He practiced what He preached. He came through on all His promises. He was more concerned with spiritual possessions than physical ones. Hey, that's refreshing in this day of "tele-evangiliars" who are looking to make a fast buck off our spiritual and emotional needs. Let's celebrate the greatest Rabbi who ever lived.
There is His death to think about. This is the one thing that Jesus directly commanded us to celebrate through a communion service, commonly called "the Lord's Supper." It is interesting to me that men have come to hold their choice of "days" concerning Christ in higher esteem than the very day he designated. The New Testament church met weekly to commune with their Lord. Many today feel that once every three or four months is plenty. That is just not enough celebration.
We could make similar cases for His ascension, His work through the Apostles, disciples, and the Holy Spirit, as well as His promise to come again and His promise of a better home in the after a while. I hope you see my point. One or two celebrations a year will not get the job done. Jesus Christ demands our daily attention, if we are to be spiritually in tune with Him.
I am going to miss old Sam, but I am going to try to emulate his dedication to his Savior in my own life. I will do this by attempting to celebrate Jesus personally every day, and collectively with my fellow Christians every Sunday.
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