Dear Family,

I recently attended a very dear friend’s funeral. I had known him for over 30 years. It was a huge shock to my system when I received a call from his children to say that he had died as I did not realize that he had even been sick. I felt this deeply as some of the best memories of my early twenties were made with him. We spent many hours doing all sorts of things together. He was a musician of note and wherever we went, people knew him and it did not take long before his guitar was out and the crowd was being entertained. He also happened to be around when I had my very first kiss with my wife-to-be, in Main Street, Port Elizabeth; he was the one who fetched my wife-to-be from her pad and brought her to mine so I could propose; and he was the MC at our wedding. A very special friend indeed. Shortly after I received Christ I wrote him a letter (as I did to all my friends) telling him about my faith and the hope I had in Jesus. I do not recall him ever responding to that letter, but whenever we met up again through the years, he was always respectful of my standing. Last time I saw him, about 6 months ago, he told me he had started attending a little church close to where he lived and that he and the pastor had many discussions over a whisky or two. God is faithful!
I received an email from another mutual friend following his death and in it she said, “He was such a special soul, a gentle person, never a harsh word to say about anyone, never heard him swear or skinner (gossip) or tell a rude joke, music ran through his veins.” This summed him up completely. But it got me thinking….how would someone sum me up? How would someone sum you up? The fact is that the Bible calls upon us to “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life…” Mmmmm…..shine like stars? Everything without complaining or arguing? Shu! I have such a long way to go. But this is not optional for us. God calls upon us to allow Him to shine through us so that He can be revealed to the earth.

We may not all go to China or elsewhere to tell people about Jesus, but we can all allow Him to shine through us! Reveal Him today, everyday!