Brief clarification

I think I know what some of you might be thinking.  You’ve seen that I’ve given my father some very high compliments in this blog.  I’ve called my dad things like a superhero and servant.  Thus, some of you have concluded that because I am without Dad now, I am guilty of idealizing him while being completely blinded to his faults.  This is simply not so.

I had the privilege of spending a lot of time with my dad.  I can say with confidence that I knew him well.  Therefore, I am well aware of his warts, faults, and shortcomings.  The things that I have said about my dad’s character are true.  He really was a wonderful man of God.  However, by saying these things, I’m not suggesting that he was some sort of a super-saint who lived a life free from, “the sin that so easily besets us” (the old King James version’s rendering of Hebrews 12).  My father had struggles with sin, just like everyone else.  The Bible says, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).

Having freely admitted this, it is also undeniable that my father was growing in holiness and becoming more and more Christ-like as he was living out his last days on this Earth.  I could tell you stories to illustrate.   Dad completed his race with such qualities as integrity, faithfulness, and humility.  No, he wasn’t perfect, but he was overcoming, through the power of Jesus Christ.

Kevin