Not to cast a pall on what I hope is a pleasant weekend for you, but I’ve been struck recently with the brevity, fragility and significance of our lives on this planet.
Like comedienne Carol Burnett used to sing at the end of her T.V. show: “Seems we just get started and before you know it, comes the time we have to say, ‘So long.’”
A few weeks ago, our newspaper ran a slew of articles and obituaries about the deaths of several men who were prominent in our world, country and city. Among the most visible was Sen. Ted Kennedy, whose death was the focus of many inches and hours of media coverage.
Another man passed relatively unnoticed from this life on the same day that Kennedy died. His name was Luke, and aside from a brief newspaper account of the electrical accident that took his life and his subsequent obituary, Luke’s death received no media attention. But for those of us who knew him, it was a very big deal.
Luke’s 51 years were a roller coaster ride. He bore the scars of previous addictions and failed marriages. But Luke had allowed the fires of adversity to purify him; he had allowed Jesus to do what He does with lives that are yielded to Him – He redeems.
The tough paths Luke had travelled had not made him hard – they had softened him, and that doesn’t often happen. Luke’s past mistakes didn’t destroy him – they gave him an extraordinary compassion for others and an uncanny knack for delivering perfectly timed encouragement.
At various gatherings where Luke was remembered, person after person spoke of practical ways Luke had blessed and encouraged them. A single mother described how Luke sought her out after a particularly difficult Father’s Day church service to tell her she was doing a great job parenting her young son.
Another person shared how Luke recently helped a local surgeon and his family move from Greenwood to northern Indiana, hopping from one rental truck to another to keep the weary drivers alert and encouraged. (By the way, this family made the 14-hour trip back here to attend Luke’s funeral.)
Others told how Luke helped them with yard work and home repairs, and diligently made sure his church softball teammates had cold bottled water at their hot games. He spread out kindness and encouragement like a warm blanket over his world.
Luke was a rough-around-the-edges guy who had allowed Jesus to turn his hard life into a life that truly counted.
Luke’s death was a glaring reminder to me that we are so prone to measure lives by standards vastly different than God’s.
“The greatest among you shall be your servant,” Jesus said (Matthew 23:11).
In that case, Luke was pretty great after all.
He stumbled a few times along the way, but Luke got up and finished his race well. His last year was an immeasurable blessing and sent a powerful message to all of us who sometimes too quickly give up on people. Luke was running with strength, freedom and great love when he hit the tape on Aug. 25.
For those of us left behind, it seems he just got started and before you know it, came the time we had to say, ‘So long.’
If you live a life that grabs headlines AND hearts, more power to ya. But if you are going to grab one or the other, choose hearts. Luke did and his life made a difference.