Ode to Gary Freeman

Gary Freeman was many things to many people, but to me he was a champion.

Why would I call my friend a champion?

A champion is someone who wins the battle, the war, the conflict, or the contest. He or she is someone who perseveres in the face of difficulty, fights on in spite of the weariness of the trial, and never looses faith in their final goal. That's why I call Gary Freeman a champion.

He endured when many would have given up, he held on when it would have been much easier to let go, and he never lost sight of his goal. He told everyone that knew him he was going to be healed either in this life or in the life to come. As long as he was able he never failed to witness and tell others about the hope he had in eternity through Jesus Christ his Lord. In spite of the pain and nausea, in spite of all the radiation and chemo, he never lost sight of God's promise to him-"I will never leave you nor forsake you."

A dear friend told me yesterday that he was beginning to face his own mortality because so many of his friends his age were passing away. He half-joked when he told me he was getting older, but he never realized how close to eternity he was until recently.

The Bible tells us it's appointed unto men once to die and then to face the judgment. Our preparation on earth provides hope for our eternal future and that is a hope many that we love are facing today. None of us know what our future holds, but we do know who holds our future.

From the beginning of Brother Gary's sickness he trusted the Lord. Regardless of the challenges he had to face he stayed secure in his faith, trusting and believing that whatever God's Will was would come to pass in his life. Today God chose to take him home. Another solider of the cross has received his reward and another champion has retired undefeated.

He was honored by his family as a patriarch. He was honored by his community for his service as a servant of good. Yet his most important honor was received when he heard Jesus say, "Welcome home."

I'm blessed to have served as pastor to a champion of the faith. Gary, thank you for being my friend and a faithful church member. Our loss is truly heaven's gain. You fought the fight of faith, and now my friend you have won the final victory.