In Memoriam / In
Tribute
On Thursday,
September 29 at about 7:00 p.m., a dear friend, brother in Christ, and member
of the Friday Guys Bible Study, Johnny Gaskins, came face-to-face with Jesus
Christ. Johnny had fought the good fight
and was welcomed by His Lord and Savior with a hearty "Well Done, Good and
Faithful Servant, enter into your rest."
Johnny's journey
began over five years ago when he found out he had A.L.S., commonly known as
Lou Gehrig's disease. From the first, Johnny showed us honesty and faith. He
knew he was in for the fight of his life. He knew it was a battle he would
eventually succumb to, in the end. He
knew also that the end of that battle was also a victory. Christ had won a victory for him two thousand
years ago when He defeated Death by His Resurrection. Johnny would tell us repeatedly
that he was not looking forward to the process but the outcome, which was
spending eternity with Christ.
Let me share my
impressions of Johnny for a moment. Johnny was a man's man. He was an athlete, a first-rate wing-shooter,
an outstanding outdoorsman and businessman, as well as a loving husband, father
and grandfather. Johnny embodied the
term "meekness." Meekness means controlled, gentle strength. He was
both well-loved and well respected throughout the community and was a man deeply devoted to Christ. He also dedicated
his surveying and engineering company to glorifying God. He strove for
excellence in all he undertook.
Rudyard Kipling's
poem, "If" says in one place,"
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after
they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you except the will
which says to them: 'Hold On'. In
another place, it says, "If you can
talk with crowds and keep your virtue or walk with kings - nor lose the common
touch." The poem ends with
this: "If you can fill the
unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run - Yours is the
Earth and everything in it, And, which is more - you'll be a man my son!"
Johnny lived that poem.
I thank God for
him. He showed us how to live…and how to die.
Praise be to God
for the life of Johnny Gaskins!
Behind every great man there is a great
woman. This is certainly true of
Johnny's wife, Brenda. She was Johnny's earthly rock. She was, as the song says, the wind beneath
his wings." When I spoke of
Johnny's meekness, I would also ascribe that quality of character to Brenda.
She also embodies that quiet, gentle strength under control. I know she endured
times of heartbreak and tears, although I never saw it. She faced Johnny's
illness with grace and calm. Brenda loves Christ above all. She exhibits the
joy of the Lord that is not dependent on circumstance. Brenda is not strong in
her own strength; she is strong because of the Holy Spirit who lives within
her.
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