Honor and Respect

I have been thinking about the concept of honor and respect over the last few days. This was spurred on by the passing of a gentleman in our church. He was a full bird colonel in the army after only 21 years which is quite and accomplishment. He served 2 tours of combat duty in Vietnam flying missions in and out of hot zones. He made no fanfare about his military service and to most his valor and bravery would go unnoticed. You'll understand better as I continue to write.

He was quite a man. Friendly, kind, thoughtful, and funny. He had his own coloquial expressions that I am sure are used my others but to us me they were unique to him. My favorite among those is the one I shall chose as my point to remember him.
His body was racked by cancer and it was only a matter of about 3 weeks from diagnosis to departure to be with His heavenly Father. It was amazingly swift. He had a prized job at our church that meant the world to him. He straightened the chairs. I don't mean he tussled them about a little here and there to make them loo better. I mean he used military-like precision to make sure that every chair in the place was in proper alignment with every other. That each row of chairs was exactly the same distance apart and within that each front chair leg was exactly the same distance form the back leg of the row preceding it. He had a device that measured this precisely. He also used a laser level to ensure the proper placement of each row and that the spacing of the aisles was exact. This was diligence at its highest level--yet very few knew that he did this and most could not or did not appreciate it. None of that mattered--it was his job that he loved to do and He did it to please his Lord. Praise was unnecesssary and dare I say unwelcomed. The honor he showed to God through this simple act will leave a lasting impression on me.
Back to my last remembrance of him. He loved to sit in the sanctuary and pray and meditate on God's goodness. He just loved being in a place where he could sense the presence of God. This was part of the joy of the job. I walked by the sanctuary and as was the custom I peeked in on him and teased about doing a good job and he of course teased me about finally coming in to work. As he sat on the stage that day I asked him, "How are you doing sir?" His response was as it so often came--"Finer than a frog hair!" followed by "Do you know how fine a frog hair is?" My response, "Mighty Fine!" This is how I will remember him. Come to find out the day before this interaction was the day he had been told by the doctors that he would not live long. I was unaware at this point.
Here is the point...he was honoring and respecting God by doing his job in the kingdom and doing it without complaining despite his seemingly overwhelming circumstances. His outlook was that all was well. Everything was fine. God was still God and nothing could ever change his goodness or the way that this man loved and trusted Him. That my friends is true honor. This is real respect.
So as we said goodbye yesterday in a service to celebrate his life, I found it apropos that honor and respect were the highlights of the day. His son in law had the honor guard step into the room and he thanked them for their bravery and service to our country on behalf of this great man. It was one of the final things he wanted done--to thank those who continued to serve and protect our rights. I can point to many aspects of the service that paid honor and showed great respect to a man...from the flag draped coffin to the exhortations that he was all about loving God, loving family and loving his country. The cannon shot and the gun salute. The patriot riders who did not know this man from any other but who were there in force to surround the grounds and support the flag that he fought to defend. They prayed for the family and saluted their fallen brother in arms. They shed tears at the playing of taps. The precision that the honor guard of young men used to handl and fold the flag and the respect shown in presenting it to his wife.
This was a fitting tribute to a man who lived a life of honor and respect.

I hope we all can learn something from this honorable man. Let us live out a life of honor and respect to our God and Lord Jesus Christ. Let's not forget to honor Him with our lives and let everything that we do be done with respect to the one for whom it is done. We are told to do all things as unto the Lord. This verse has no greater impact or practical application than that that I saw in this man.

Thanks for the lessons.
I look forward to seeing you on the other side.
I know that you are truly finer than frog hair.
RIP- Mr. Theo Epperson