I have many fond memories of my father—memories accumulated over the 43 years we shared this earth. I have fond memories based on my first twenty-one years when I lived in his home and saw him nearly every day. I remember him taking me to old Exhibition Stadium to watch the Blue Jays play. I remember going on a road trip together—just the two of us traveling across Georgian Bay and onto Manitoulin Island. I remember getting up early in the morning and finding that he was already awake, already reading his Bible, already spending time with the Lord. I remember this and so much else.

Then I have fond memories based on the next 23 years of life after I had gotten married and moved out, and after he and the family had left Canada to settle in the American South. Our visits became less frequent then, but no less significant. I remember his joy on those rare occasions when the whole family could be together, the entire collection of kids and grandkids under a single roof. I remember looking out from many church pulpits and conference podiums and seeing his face in the crowd. I remember notes and letters he would send at important moments or following significant events.
But my favorite memory of all is my final memory of all. In June of 2019 dad turned 70 and the family threw him a surprise party to mark the occasion. I made the long journey from Toronto to my sister’s home in Georgia to be part of the fun. It was a wonderful afternoon spent with friends and family, all of whom had gathered to honor dad as he reached a significant milestone. Though I talked to him on the phone after that day, I never actually saw him again and formed no other lasting memories. Just a few months later he collapsed and died at a time that was unexpected but in a way that was exactly as he wanted—with dirt on his hands.
Just months after my father went to heaven, my son followed. It has been more than a year since I last saw Nick, more than a year since I dropped him at Southern Seminary and watched as he walked away, arm-in-arm with the woman who would soon be his fiancée. Though we often spoke on the phone after that time, and though we sometimes connected by video chat, I never actually laid eyes on him again before he, too, collapsed and died at a time that was unexpected and in a way we could never have imagined.
In the aftermath of those two great sorrows, I often find myself thinking back to dad’s final birthday and to my final memory. Though I had decided to make the long journey, the family had determined they would not tell dad that I was coming. Because of flight schedules I was not able to arrive until an hour or two after the festivities had gotten underway. Dad was by the side of the pool when I got there, chatting with a friend. He saw me, he blinked in shock, and his face lit up with joy—the joy of a father who is surprised and delighted to see his son. It was a special moment.
It was a special moment that, in its own way, points me toward another special moment, for on his birthday dad unknowingly foreshadowed the joy I will experience when I finally see my Nick again—the pure and sweet and unadulterated joy of a Father whose heart has longed for the son he loves, the son he misses, the son he so wishes to see, to hug, to hold, to enjoy. The delight that flashed in his eyes, the smile that broke over his face, the tears that glimmered in his eyes, all point me to a time in the future when what is broken will be made whole, when what is sorrowful will be soothed, when what has been torn apart will be stitched back together, a time when son and father and father and son will be reunited, never more to part, never more to grieve.

The young boy had a privileged upbringing and spent his childhood on a fine estate that boasted a large and carefully-tended garden with bright flowers, cobbled paths, high walls, trimmed lawns. He spent hours of every day playing in this garden, exploring it, and delighting in its many wonders.

But there was one part where he never ventured to go. At the very end of the garden stood a grove of trees that grew tall and full and cast dark shade upon the pathway beneath. As he squinted his eyes from a safe distance, he could see that the path winding through the grove led to a gate set in the distant wall. And though he wondered what lay beneath the trees and beyond the gateway, he dared not approach, for when he was small, a gardener had told him an idle tale of ogres that lived among the trees and giants that lived in the land beyond the walls.
Finally a day came when his older brother heard of his fear. Playing in the garden one day, the older led the younger to the very edge of the grove. Leaving the young boy frozen there, stricken with terror, his brother took up a happy song and walked down the path without fear, without worry, without hesitation. Reaching the gate, he opened it deftly and passed through, his voice still audible and still joyful.
And then, having shown his brother that there was nothing to fear, he returned. He entered back from beyond the wall, he retraced his steps along the pathway, until the two brothers once again stood side-by-side. He assured him he had seen no ogres among the trees and no giants beyond the gate. In fact, the gate had opened into a garden even more splendid than the one in which they stood. And now the young boy knew there was nothing to dread, no reason to be anxious. His fears had been allayed and his heart calmed, replaced by the knowledge of his brother’s safe journey. Yet even then, “Let me know when you are ready,” said his brother assuredly, “and in that day I will take your hand and we will walk the pathway and pass through the gate together.”
And just so, our elder brother Jesus knows we live in fear of death and are prone to doubt that joys lie beyond the gateways of this life. He knows we fear what we cannot see and cannot yet experience. He knows our anxiety, he knows our weakness, he knows our frailty. And so he has gone before us. He has made the journey and returned to assure us that all will be well and to tell us that we need do no more than follow in his footsteps. For as the sacred Word tells us, by his death he has broken the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and has freed those who all their lives have been held in slavery by their fear of death (Hebrews 2:14–15). By defeating death, he has liberated us from the fear of death.

Inspired by The Way Into the Holiest by F.B. Meyer

This weeks Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by The Good Book Company. They are giving away to one winner a bundle of their new releases!

This September Releases Bundle Includes…
God’s Big Promises Bible Storybook by Carl Laferton
Watch children discover God’s big promises and how Jesus keeps every one of them! God’s Big Promises Bible Storybook contains both familiar stories, such as Noah & the ark, David & Goliath, and Daniel & the lions’ den, and lesser-known stories such as Jacob & Esau and Simeon & Anna. Together, these 92 theologically faithful stories point to the one big story of the Bible: God making and keeping his promises to redeem his people.
Bright, colorful icons indicate which stories relate to a promise made or a promise kept within 5 distinct themes: Rescue, People, Land, Joy and King. It is a great first Bible to introduce a child to the stories of the Bible and the promise-keeping God who loves them. It also provides a trusted starting point for children to cultivate a lifelong love of God’s word.
The Christian Manifesto by Alistair Begg
What does genuine Christian living look like in the 21st century, and how can we be motivated to live that way?
The answer comes from Jesus’ sermon in Luke 6 (sometimes known as the Sermon on the Plain), which starts, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God,” and goes on to lay out God’s vision statement for the Christian life. It is a manifesto that transcends politics, culture, and personality, detailing God’s intentions for his people.
Alistair Begg unpacks this sermon, encouraging Christians to live a radically different life that upends the world’s values and philosophies. It’s a lifestyle that is counterintuitive and countercultural, yet one that God blesses with true meaning and impact.
As we look at the kindness and compassion of Jesus and ask for the Holy Spirit’s help, we’ll grow in both the motivation and the ability to obey Jesus’ teaching and experience the blessing that comes from that.
Training Young Hearts: What Are Hands For? and What Are Mouths For? by Abbey Wedgeworth
The new Training Young Hearts series addresses the attitudes of the heart that underpin behavior and explains how the gospel of grace enables us to change. What Are Mouths For? and What Are Hands For? are the first two in the series and address both positive and negative behaviors related to little ones’ mouths and hands.
Parents, teachers, and other loved ones can refer back to these resources when specific behaviors need both to be corrected and to be connected to forgiveness, grace, and growth.
Faithfully Present by Adam Ramsey
Most of us feel that life is rushing past us. We reach the end of another day or week or year and wonder where it went. So we double down on trying to do more or do better—or distract ourselves with the many diversions the 21st century has to offer. But often we’re so busy thinking about the next thing that we’re at risk of missing the main thing: the people and places God has put in front of us, right here, right now.
There is a better way to live. In this thought-provoking book, Adam Ramsey helps us to embrace the time and place we are in and to live each day fully and faithfully present with God and with others. Readers will discover fresh joy in the little things, freedom from the tyranny of time, and contentment in every season of life.
Hopeward by Dai Hankey
This positive and encouraging book takes readers on a hopeward journey with Jesus from despondency to joy. They will discover how Jesus can restore and sustain them, and they will be re-energized to carry on serving him in a joyful and manageable way.
Author Dai Hankey is a church planter in Cardiff and founder of Red Community, a Christian charity that fights human trafficking in Wales. Speaking from a personal experience of burnout, he comes alongside weary Christians to explore what it looks like in practice to really lean on Jesus and enjoy his rest.
Enter Here
Giveaway Rules: You may enter one time. When you enter, you permit The Good Book Company to send you marketing emails which you may unsubscribe from at any time. The winner will be notified via email, and those who do not win will receive an email with the option to download a free e-copy of 12 Things God Can’t Do by Nick Tucker. The giveaway closes on Friday, September 29th at noon EST.