 |
Some people move into your life, and then out again, leaving a few memories and hopefully some fun times. But, every once in a lifetime, there is someone who impacts your life in very profound ways. Ways you can't explain. Ways that make no sense. Ways that are above our ways.God works in ways we simply can't comprehend. Our sweet friend Larry Melton passed away at 61 years young. It was his appointed time to meet Jesus, but we sure weren't ready to let him go! God certainly takes the good ones first.
All day today I've had a slide show playing in my head. Memories of a Godly man smiling, laughing, preaching, fasting, praying, delivering food, asking a stranger if they knew Jesus! Memories. Larry was the kind of Christian we all aspire to be. He loved people like most of us know we should but we simply don't have the compassion to do it. He did. So much so that he went to the ends of the earth to find them and tell them of a loving savior named Jesus!
I remember a story he told us about a trip to Africa. The team had walked through the bush for many miles, trying to get to another town or community. The bush was tall grass or stalks...I think of it like corn stalks...you could not see where you were going. Then, all of a sudden, they came across a man. One man, in the bush. They proceeded to tell him about Jesus. This man had NEVER even heard the name! He immediately accepted Jesus as his Lord! But the amazing thing was this man simply could not believe God had sent these people to him...one person, literally in the middle of no where! Larry told him, "That is how much he loves you!". And they all wept together!
Yep, that was Larry! An ordinary man, doing God's work. There won't be a press release put out about his death we won't read about him on yahoo. The masses will never know his work for the Lord. But we will...this small community that he impacted for the better...the Africans, Romanians, the people of Poland, we will hold him dear. We will never forget how small we are and how big God used Larry Melton in our lives. Why did we deserve this gift from God? We didn't. But like the man in the bush...God loved us that much!
What's next? I ask myself this question. How will I personally carry on God's legacy...the same one Larry carried with him throughout the world? I don't know yet, but I know I will never be the same.
We love you Larry! Your life was never in vain! You made a difference. You gave hope to the hopeless. You set many many captives free! You fed the poor and reached out to the widows and orphans. You did it all in a way that maybe we can mirror in our own small way. You will be missed.
