Flashback Friday...Remembering Dad with hope and assurance.

After Dad's funeral, I did a series of Flashback Friday's and shared what was said at his funeral and thoughts on his life. I wrote about how we remembered his life and his service to his country, but I never finished the rest of the story.
With this weekend being Good Friday followed by Easter Sunday, I thought that it was an appropriate time to remember the rest of the story.

Many of you know that I was a missionary for Campus Crusade for 12 years after college.

I had traveled the world talking to people about their beliefs about God, the Bible and faith, but I never knew for sure what my Dad believed. He had told me once that He believed in God.
But I had heard him tell preacher after preacher...that he didn't think he belonged in church because of the things he had to do during the war.
I was torn, because I knew my Dad was a good man and wanted to believe, but did he understand the message of forgiveness?
Being a missionary, I was trained to bring people to a point of decision. To lead them, if possible in a "sinner's prayer"...a specific moment that the person can look back on and say that is when I "became a Christian." I was pretty sure my Dad had never grasped or said such a prayer. I was worried.

It was shortly after having open heart surgery that my mom showed me a letter my Dad had written. A letter he wrote to God:
After reading this letter, I looked up and my mom was beaming.
It answered my questions.
I said to God, "I know he may not understand everything, but he understands he is guilty and is asking you for forgiveness and for you to accept him. If that's not a good enough prayer, then I don't want to believe in you."
After that, I stopped worrying about my Dad.
I knew in my heart that God had given Dad what he asked for..."just as he was."

However, it is one thing to intellectually know what the Bible says.
It is another thing to be assured of it.
I do believe that my Dad knew he wanted to be forgiven and asked God for it in his own way, but I don't believe he ever experienced or was assured of that forgiveness and I think that is why he continued to put off being baptized or go to church or take communion, because he said "I don't want to push my way in."

Several years later, found him at the end of his days.
I will now, turn the story over to my brother Mike and his account of the last days of my dad's life on earth.

Here's Mike's story as read by Pastor Morrow, at Dad's funeral service:

"Here's my Testament:
I’ve a story to tell about my Dad, who we’ve come here today to pay our last respects to. As we’ve heard earlier my Dad was a very honest, hard-working man who took great pride in his family and lived a long and interesting life. The story I would like to tell is of his spiritual beliefs and of the amazing things that occurred within the last 24 hours of his time here on earth. My Dad was never much of a church-goer and as any of you who knew him knows he did not express his faith to others. Growing up Mom always made sure that we were in Sunday school and Church as often as was possible, but about the only time she could get Dad away from the Log Cabin or the farm to go to church would be for Easter Sunrise and sometimes Christmas services. Several years ago before Mom went to be with Jesus in heaven she showed some of my sisters a letter that Dad had written that started out 'Dear Lord,' in it he gave thanks to the Lord for being with him through his recent Heart By-Pass surgery, and for the wonderful wife and family that he had. Continuing on he writes, and I quote from the letter: 'Was called to the service of our Country, done my best, a lot of very hard times Killing our enemies was worst, you never forget so many, hope you understand, it’s impossible to forget our sins. Hope you can forgive, and the future will be all right.' end quote.
After learning of this letter all of us tried on several occasions to witness to Dad that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ understands that the things he was commanded to do by his government were contrary to what Jesus would like, and in Jesus’ eyes are no different than any of the other sins that we all commit on a daily basis in our lives. Our human nature separates all of us from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and it is only through his death and resurrection that we can be assured our sins have been forgiven. This was a major stumbling block for my Dad to overcome he just felt that for all he had done he was not worthy of being forgiven. Well let’s fast forward now to the afternoon before Dad’s death.
He had the opportunity to receive God’s forgiveness through the Sacrament of Baptism. Verna and I were with him at the time and immediately saw a peace come over him that brought us great joy.
Later that night we got a call from the nursing home that Dad was not doing to good and that we may want to come in. David and I spent the night with him and Nancy and Janet came early in the morning to give us a break.
When I left Dad that morning I put my hands on his shoulders and told him I was going to leave for a little while and that if Jesus came to get him he needed to go with him because he was going to take him to a much better place and to be with Mom.
Shortly after I left he was visited a second time by the Pastor from the nursing home and also by a Chaplin from hospice.
These men both welcomed Dad in to the Brotherhood of Believers and assured him of Christ’s forgiveness. Shortly after the Hospice Chaplin left Dad’s room an Aid from the Hospice came in to tend to Dad. She asked my sisters if they could step out of the room for a few minutes.

They tell that while they were out of the room almost instantly the wind picked up and started blowing, it started to rain very hard and almost as quickly as it started it stopped, and the sun came out.
They saw the aid back out in the hallway and so they started back into Dad’s room but was then told that Dad had just died while she was with him.
The hospice Chaplin had not yet left the building so he came by to see my sisters and to comfort them. When they told him of the timing of the wind and the rain and Dad’s death, he was not at all surprised. He said just as it is written and just as he had told Dad a few minutes earlier, the Lord sends the water (in the rain) to cleanse of our sins and the Holy Spirit (in the wind) to be with us and take us to heaven when our days on earth are done. So I would like to close by saying Praise God for the gift of Salvation he has given us through the Death and Resurrection of his Son Jesus Christ and Praise God for giving my Dad the opportunity to receive his salvation from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen."

So, dear reader,
it is with hope that I remember my Dad, especially on this Good Friday.
I hope that you too...have hope.
And not just hope, but assurance as well.
Assurance that the message of Good Friday and the forgiveness it brings is Real.
And that the message of Easter Sunday and the Resurrection unto life eternal has and
will conquer all fear of death.