My dad was a man just like this. He didn’t get on someone’s case because they let a swear word fly in anger, or even in a joke. In fact, he was sometimes the one who would make such a joke, or use such language when he was really angry. Did this stop people from seeing Jesus in him? No! In fact, these things aren’t even what people remember about him.
Since my dad passed away a few days ago, the things I’ve heard about my dad from others have just been proof of the Christ-like example he was to others. One of the best stories I heard was from David Green, a man who my parents went head-to-head with on more than one occasion. He respected the fact that my dad stood up to him and fought for his youngest son. However, one day, after a classmate of mine had died in a tragic motorcycle accident, David was at the location of the accident. My dad, with my brother with him, were driving by. My dad pulled over to see if David was okay. When David told my dad he didn’t have to stop, all my dad said was that he was worried about him. David about broke down into tears right then.
That’s just one story of my dad’s Christ-like behavior. And within that story, there were two examples of Jesus. The fact he cared about someone he’d had a fierce argument with, plus the way he had fought for one of his children. Jesus fought for us, and won.
Something I think I’m learning is, you can try your best to be like Christ, but you’re gonna fail. I know that’s a simple biblical truth, but that’s not quite the failing I’m talking about. Yeah, my dad may not have won that “fight” with David before, but he still fought valiantly for his son and won the continued love from my brother. He also earned the respect of his “enemy” as well. My point is, I’m sure in that heated argument, my dad lost his temper, may have even said some words he hadn’t meant to say, but ultimately, the language my dad may have used isn’t what people are remembering. God may bring it up, but I know Jesus will be at his side and vouch for him. He’s forgiven.
My father’s life was an example of the most cliché thing I hate seeing. You know that whole “Live, Laugh, Love” crap you see on everything nowadays? Well, that was him. He loved to laugh, and make others laugh. He loved others more than himself, right up to the day he died. And he lived. Boy did he live. He followed his dreams as far as God took them. He had bands throughout his life; he was able to raise a family who loved him and learned how to love others; he coached Cross Country and Track at Yorba Linda High School. He was the first coach there and the team did much better than was expected. Just goes to prove how good of a coach he was.
I witnessed another great example of the man he was through some of the guys he coached. One kid in particular wrote my dad a letter, telling him how he was the most influential man in his life. Such a huge thing to be told. This just days before my dad passed. My dad told those guys that they were the best and to go out and prove it. I think his words were for more than just running. I believe these words were in life too. Yes, he wants them to go out and prove themselves out on the cross country courses and out on the track, but he also knows their character. That’s just how he was. He just knew the people in his life. He got them.
I even saw how he understood me. From things as simple as a TV show he knew I would like. I remember one summer visiting from Colorado and him saying, “You should watch this.” I told him not to make me watch it because I didn’t need another show to get addicted to. He was like a drug dealer, but for television shows. I watched the episode and fell in love with the show immediately. Turns out, it was the first episode of the second season. I said, “Dad! I said not to get me hooked. Now I gotta find out how Michael Weston ended up in the back of a semi-truck trailer!” Therefore, my addiction to Burn Notice started. He did the same thing with other shows. For my birthday one year, he sent me the first season of Heroes, and it turned out to be one of my favorite shows. Like I said, he knew me.
My love for TV was something I learned came from him. We had very similar tastes in TV, music, movies, etc. Most importantly, he influenced my love for God. If I can be as good of an example of the love of Christ half as much as my father was, then I know I will influence many lives. He knew that love was more important than rules, love was more important that people’s mistakes, love was more important than whether they cussed sometimes, love was above all. He didn’t try to give a perception of perfection. He just tried to be the best example of Christ he could be. If I can be half the man my dad was, I will still be a great man…
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