May the words of my mouth and the
meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight O Lord, our rock and our
redeemer!! AMEN!!
Let us pray! Gracious Lord, as we gather here to remember Ron,
we are reminded that he has been washed by the Blood of the Lamb of God Who
takes away the sin of the world. Remind
us that Ron asked to receive the sacrament of Holy Baptism and enters into Your
kingdom as an heir of eternal life because of You and the grace and forgiveness
You freely offered to him. No longer
will the pains of memory of this life bind him, for it is in, through and by
his baptism into Your life, death and resurrection that Ron now rests in Your
loving arms. May Your Gospel message of
salvation remind us that though the veil of death separates us today from Ron,
it cannot separate us from the love You have for us that is manifest in the Gospel
of salvation offered for all of mankind, including all of us gathered here. May we be comforted by this thought and truth
and allow the salve of Your Gospel message to embrace us in Your loving arms
offered by Your Son Jesus Christ innocent death on Calvary for all of Your saints,
especially including all of the saints of Ron’s family gathered here at
Emmanuel to say goodbye. AMEN.
When one reaches the gates of an indoctrination station,
once you step one foot in the door, your life is forever changed. No longer do you have the freedoms found as a
civilian, your life is now at the mercy of the drill sergeants and their main
job to transform men and women into soldiers.
This was especially true for Ron as he began his journey from being a ‘wet
behind the ears’ farm boy from Northwest Kansas to his transformation into a
soldier in the United States Army preparing for battles that would eventually
come in both Korea and eventually Vietnam.
The task of the drill sergeants was clear, make soldiers.
For Ron the transformation became clear and he lived the life
of a soldier for his entire 20 year career.
From one War to another, he served his country with distinction and
honor, but his transformation into a soldier also affected his care of and for
those under his command. There were many
times that Ron instead of sending a ‘wet behind the ears’ new recruit on a
mission to deliver supplies, would sacrifice himself in order to insure that
the new recruit would not be sent home in a body bag at such a young age. And this sacrifice not only provided many
stories, but events that could have caused his own life to be cut short. But this sacrifice was something Ron believed
in and was a clear and tangible change for him that very few people knew about.
But though he would sacrifice himself for others, it did not
change the person who he really was.
Some saw Ron and the decisions he made in his life with clear question, even
pity and sometimes even derision. He
like a lot of people enjoyed the vices in life, and some questioned not only
his action, but also his faith. But God
was at work. Behind the scenes and
outside of the view of lots of people, including his family, God was changing
Ron’s heart, by baby steps, but still making Ron a new creation. Ron had heard the stories from his birth by
his mother of what Jesus Christ did on Calvary, but never did Ron become
baptized. But God was working, from his
youth, to boot camp, through Korea and Vietnam and even later in his life for a
change that would have dramatic impact.
This change was made in His life on Feb. 2, 2014, when God
made Ron his own in His baptism. By Ron’s
own request for baptism, God came down and forever changed Ron in a way that
made him different for all eternity. Ron
trusted completely in the grace offered by Jesus Christ. God through the Water connected with the Word
made Ron an heir of eternal life and prepared him for entrance into the Kingdom
of God.
This was a fulfillment of the promise that was made on Calvary
2000 years ago and made manifest in Ron’s life here in Goodland, KS less than a
month ago. It does not nor did it change
Ron’s life nor call right what he had done in his life previously, but through
the water of baptism, God forgave him his sins and washed away His sin. Through the blood of the lamb of God, Jesus
Christ washed away the sin in Ron’s life and welcomed him as a child of
God. This is what we come here today to
celebrate. We come to celebrate what God
did for Ron and offers for each of us today.
We are offered the gift of eternal life through our baptism
into Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection.
We are offered the free gift of grace that does not change our sin, but
washes it away. God offers each of us
the opportunity to trust in Him and the promise of salvation given to us
through the gift of grace offered by Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. This is the free gift which God offered to Ron
and today in our remembering Ron’s life understand that God has made him a
changed man, a new creation and especially a child of God.
This message of eternal life and
salvation that Jesus Christ promised to Ron is a clear reminder for each and
everyone of us as we gather here this morning and remember, not only the changed
soldier who cared for those under his command, but more importantly the message
of salvation found in Jesus Christ that changed Ron on the day of his
baptism. This is the offer God makes to
and for all of mankind, but especially for all of the saints of Ron’s family
that gather here to say goodbye. AMEN.
Now may the peace of God which
surpasses all human understanding guard our hearts and minds and comfort us
today, because of what Jesus Christ did for Ron and each one of us! AMEN!
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