The Tabernacle

In 1 hour I leave to go and say goodbye to my Dad for the last time. I did not expect to loose him from my life so soon or so quickly. But my Father in Heaven who is now my only Father here on earth, is good & he prepared me just days before Dad died in Manila Philipines. He took me again as he did 5 years ago to the Book of Haggai in the Old Testament & left me with these words… “Once again I will shake the heavens & the earth, the sea & the dry land; and I will shake the nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory, says the Lord.” (Hag 2:6,7) The Lord left me that day with one question, “Are you ready for this?” Days later, I was in Manila watching the life support machines being turned off. My Dad was dead. He was now in heaven. The shaking had begun again. The point of the shaking is that all the nations would come to the ‘Desire of All Nations”,who is Jesus. He is the Desire. He was my Dad’s Desire. And He is mine.

I want to share with you what I am about to share in an hour’s time at my Dad’s funeral. This is his legacy. I pray it will be mine also. And if you knew my Dad, he would be asking you, “What will yours be?”

“You will hear lots of what Dad did for God but I want to share with you how I saw him love God. Because this is the greatest impact that Dad had on my life. He showed me how to love my Father in heaven. It was not what he did for God that inspired me, invited me & wooed me to know God for myself, it was all those times I saw him sit of a morning in his ‘den’ reading & talking to Jesus, it was all those times he prayed with me, with Mum, with whoever else was there. Dad pursued God & God pursued Dad. It was a mutual love affair that impacted me, the generations & the nations around me.

In one phrase it was impressive, inviting, compelling.

One of the highlights in our home growing up, was that precious moment when Mum would pull out a freshly made, hot loaf of bread. She would carry it over to the bench, where us kids would be lined up with knife in hand, plate in the other & taste buds jumping in delightful expectation of eating it. Not long after we had begun that joyous journey of cutting a slice of hot bread, covering it with butter & vegemite, Dad would inevitably come bursting in the door, eager for some of it himself. It was a common experience in our house, for an entire loaf of bread to be eaten in one sitting. Such was the wonder of Mum’s bread! Infact, Dad would eat bread with everything! He would have it for breakfast, lunch & dinner. Even for an afternoon snack. Dad & good bread were inseparable. Such was his passion for the ‘bread of life’ also. He devoured this book of God with the same enthusiasm & hunger that he would eat the bread made of wheat with. It intrigued me as a child seeing him spend hours over the ‘bread of life’ & ‘wheat’… it called something out in me… hunger.

Bishop J Garlington Sr once said, “Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It’s as if they were showing you the way.” Watching Dad love the presence of God awakened in me the desire to do the same. He indeed showed me the way & this is the greatest legacy & inheritance he left me…. left us all. For it is not about what he did, not about the task that he gave his life for right to the end, it was always & firstly, about loving Jesus… about loving the presence of God. It was out of this place he lived… he loved… he gave… he cared…

Watching Dad love the presence of God, this is the greatest thing he left behind. It’s the greatest thing we can leave behind. No one can argue with our testimony. No one can ignore a life lived in the presence of God. No one in their right mind would turn away from the sweet beauty that is left on a person loving Jesus. Dad was romanced by the heart of God & it was from this heart he spoke & lived. Of all the moments, all the memories, all that was part of his life & my life with Dad, this is the one thing. This is the one thing I will take with me till I die & it will be the one thing that I will impart to the children of my flesh & the children of the spirit that I am given.

Thank you Dad for showing me how to love Jesus. Thank you for loving us. We will so miss you.”