I recently met a Christian who, despite being a bit put off by my lack of Christian faith, was truly an inspiration. I will confess that I've met very few Christians who have ever really left an impression on me, and John was the first I've met offline. John was a traveling preacher who preached at several churches, and worked a construction job to pay the bills. For the last few years he had felt that he should be doing more than just preaching the word of God; like there was more to being a Christian than just talking.
One day he saw a documentary on how poor the people in the Appalachia region are, and felt that this was his new goal. He set out on a mission; traveling to all of the local churches and gathering up clothes, food, toys, and more and started looking for a group in the Appalachia that would distribute the items. Unfortunately, most of the groups that handled this sort of thing didn't want the hassle of a large load of items that would need to be given away. None of the local churches, none of the local food drives, no one was interested.
Until, by chance, he found the non-profit that my parents run. He contacted my parents and, aside from disliking our pagan beliefs (the non-profit itself is secular), he was enthusiastic about giving us the stuff. A few days later we had a massive load of food and clothing to pass out to the locals, many of whom would have been hard pressed to make it through the winter. This was all done with no strings attached, all out of his own pocket, and all out of the goodness of his heart.
This may not seem like much to the casual reader, but our group has been running for over ten years now and this is the first free donation that we have ever received. We were not restricted on giving it out to specific denominations, we didn't have to bow and kowtow to them, and they had no objections to our beliefs. John was the first Christian I've met who really radiated goodness, and was willing to go out and improve the life of people around him, regardless of who they were.
Sadly, John passed away suddenly a few days ago. He suffered a blow on the head at work last year, and unknowingly bruised his brain. Nothing came of it until a few weeks ago, when he started having memory problems and dizziness, and tragically he ignored the symptoms.
As such, John is sadly no longer with us; but I want his work to live on. John was a man who carried his faith in his heart, and went out of his way to follow Agape, the Law of Love. He loved his fellow man, and when he saw a need he sought to ease it. I think that if YHWH and Yeshua are real, then John was a true follower of Them and performed Their deeds as well as any mortal could hope. I sincerely hope that John is with Them now, and I hope that he will serve as inspiration to his peers.
I would also like to ask that you say a prayer for John's family and girlfriend. John was a true example of a good Christian, and his passing is a truly painful loss.
