I’ve been home the better part of a week, and I’m still thinking about it. The moments of my trip home turn over and over, around and around; my time with family, my grandpa’s funeral, the laughter, the tears, the abiding hope amid deep heart ache – there is so much to examine.
My Grandpa was a simple man. There were things that were important, and things that were not. As we circled his grave, I realized something undeniable. There we all stood, his offspring : a reflection of what mattered to him. Looking on each face gathered, (we call ourselves the Tribe of Reuben) I knew that each one was a follower of Jesus. All of Reuben and Ann’s children, and all of their grandchildren know Jesus – and now the great grandchildren, the fourth generation of Brubachers are being raised to know Him too. I forget how unique that is these days.
(And, let me just say, what I’m about to tell you is not a set of rules for “successful family life” or “how to raise godly children.” I’m well aware there are no absolutes and I’m not here to sell you any such moralistic type guarantees.)
It has made me ponder though: What mattered to my Grandpa, Reuben Brubacher? and, what should matter more to me? He loved his wife and family and he loved God. But there were a few ways that he worked out his faith. He prayed. He read God’s Word and he talked about God. And he did these things a lot.
He and my Grandma in their later years prayed for everyone in our family, every day. Their 7 children and spouses, their 18 grandchildren and spouses, and their 34 great grand children (and counting) and that was just the top of the list. They read God’s Word each day, throughout the day, before meals and other times as well. And, they talked about God to everyone. Yes, I do mean everyone.
I remember a time when I was maybe 10, that Grandma and Grandpa had come to our house for a visit. Grandpa came into my room, sat on my bed, looked me in the eye and asked me if I knew Jesus and what did He mean to me. point blank. At 10, I didn’t realize what he was up to. But, the thing is, I know he did that wherever he went. In the hospital, as he was dying, he questioned nurses and doctors if they knew the Lord. He wanted everyone to know his Savior.
So. What matters to me? In my heart I know there is so much that concerns me that doesn’t matter. Oh dear. This list is long and a bit embarrassing: my wardrobe, my house, my work, my reputation, my social standing, my health and fitness, my kids’ education, the meals I cook – and really I’m just getting started. If I’m real with you, I’ll tell you that most of these things on any given day get more attention than my life in Christ. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
There’s been an example set for me, and the rest of my family. Love God. Talk to Him. and talk to others about Him.
When I think of Grandpa B, I think of Deuteronomy 6: 1-9. This is how he lived. May God help me to do the same!
“Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. 3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
daily portion 