Philosophers
ponder, “What is the good life and who has it?” I instantly think of my good
friend Roy.
Roy was a
gentle, quiet man who sought no recognition, who left the care of his life to
his heavenly Father, and who occupied himself solely with his Father’s will.
His was a heavenly perspective. As he often reminded me: “We are but sojourners
here.”
Roy
passed away last fall. At his memorial service, friends reminisced over his
influence on their lives. Many spoke of his kindness, selfless giving,
humility, and gentle compassion. He was, for many, a visible expression of
God’s unconditional love.
After the
service, Roy’s son drove to the assisted-living facility where his father lived
out his final days. He gathered up his dad’s belongings: two pairs of shoes, a
few shirts and pants, and a few odds and ends—the sum of Roy’s earthly
goods—and delivered them to a local charity. Roy never had what some would
consider the good life, but he was rich toward God in good deeds. George MacDonald
wrote, “Which one is the possessor of heaven and earth: He who has a thousand
houses, or he who, with no house to call his own, has ten at which his knock
arouses instant jubilation?”
Roy’s was
the good life after all.
No one
can know the good life without God. (RBC)
