A Writer's Thoughts

Brother to Brother/Man to Man

Theology in the Trenches

By Kathleen Kjolhaug

 

Tommy died. It wasn’t supposed to be this way, a young man of twenty-four. He was full of life, born with a big heart, and each smile was second nature if not first. Gentle kindness poured from his soft brown eyes and was noted by all who spoke of him…by all who loved Tommy. But accidents are just that…and within split seconds one vehicle collided with another mid- morning and that’s all it took. It took Tommy…or did it?

 As the people gathered to remember him, young, old, neighbors, relatives, friends, co-workers, teachers, and all who loved this family of brothers, a hush came over the crowd. It could be heard around town when the clock struck 2:00 and the service began.

 Up stepped Pastor to the podium followed by the local vocalist. Both performed in honor of the family, in honor of Tommy. He was one of the middle ones which would make him sandwiched in between the other four and as they huddled together amidst one another, comfort came by the mere touch of a shoulder. They leaned into mom, another into dad, and the rest stood shoulder to shoulder, brother to brother.

 When the music stopped and the message was done, all remained still…still so much to understand in the midst of grieving for their fallen friend. And just when all thought the service was about to end, just when all thought it was over, onto the podium stepped the oldest brother on behalf of Tommy. He walked intentionally towards the microphone and spoke to each soul in attendance.

 He began. He began illustrating in real time, real life, what the words of the Pastor who’d just spoken meant. He spoke heart to heart with the voice of a believer. He spoke of his personal encounter with our Lord and the day he became a believer. He spoke of the importance of repenting of wrongs and believing that Jesus died on the cross for every sin past, present, and future. He spoke of current struggles and how God is ever faithful even in our imperfection. He spoke from a heart poured out in love.

 He asked a few questions not mincing any words. “What are you waiting for? What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that God is going to turn you into a weird person? Are you afraid God is going to make you do stuff you don’t want to do? I’ll tell you what He’s going to ask you to do. He’s going to ask you to help. Is that so hard?”  

 And when he spoke, eyes watched, ears heard, and hearts responded. Sheer honesty and raw grief called forth those who heard. He spoke of a God who loves us in our weaknesses. He spoke of a God whom we will live with forever…a concept that our finite minds cannot begin to grasp. He spoke of a God who calls each one by name and a God who longs for each to simply call on His name, Jesus.

 The young man chose to love his neighbor as himself by laying bare his heart before his home town crowd. Jesus found it difficult to minister to those in his own village; God bless this love laid bare.

 And here comes the best part of the whole blessed profession of faith…this one sentence asked in question form…and answered on the spot. “Are you afraid He’s going to ask you to change?” The answer came in the form of full blown truth: “You don’t have to change, He changes you.”

 He said much more, and his exact words I could never remember…but with permission…I was given the okay to share what I’ve written…because ultimately, Tommy’s death will count for something.

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).  Amen.