I am posting the following commentary for my friend.  Forgive me if it is somewhat rambling, in a way, I am just saying goodbye to my friend (or rather, until we meet again).

A friend of mine died Tuesday, a good friend. He will be badly missed at the nursing home. I was privy to the secret things he did, the way he loved the other residents, and the things he did for them in private.  He was a resident there, and he truly had empathy for some of the loneliness and pain that people sometimes experience in such a situation.  Ronnie and I spoke of Christianity many times, we just referred to it as "being Christian". He may have been one of the best examples I've ever seen of a true Christian. That's a great thing I love about God.  He always gives you just what you need, just at the right time. At time when many churches have forgotten the first love, the mission, God helped me remember that Christianity is not about church rituals and punching a ticket on Sundays, as so many people have mistaken it.  That is one reason so many people feel empty in many churches today.  Jesus Christ is the most shining example of God's love we will ever have, and we would all do well to examine His life carefully.  To quote a popular phrase, I don't want to "be like Mike", I want to "be like Jesus.  And it is when we love others and sacrifice for others that Jesus can be seen clearly in us.  It was only when I started looking on the battlefield, in the trenches, that I truly started seeing God in action.  And Ronnie was one brother that let the light so shine before men, and it glorified God.

Many churches have become social clubs, neglecting their first love. I had placed so much faith in churches, thinking that was the answer - but it wasn't. So I got in the trenches and became obedient to God, I started going where God sent me, where the need was. It was in the nursing home that I met Ronnie. I observed his day to day actions and they preached to me louder than empty words ever could. He was not a preacher, but he preached, believe me, he preached. There is nothing more encouraging than seeing a man of faith show that faith through servitude to others.  In the beginning, I offered to take him to the church I was attending, and I did until I left that church.  I believe Ronnie saw me as his pastor/minister, but I wasn't.  But he treated me that way, so I remember how I agonized over leaving the church because of the possible effect on Ronnie.  I agonized over it more for Ronnie's sake than my own, because I had been taking him with me and he trusted me.  After a week or two of prayer, I broached the subject with him and told him although I was leaving that particular church for reasons I would not go into,  I would continue to take him. He said to me, "I know you, you come to me, you come here, you are like family, like a minister, or a church member. I don't know anyone at that church there and they don't know me.  If I stop coming to them,  no-one there will come looking for me."  This made me incredibly sad, because without me stating a reason for leaving, he had hit the very point of contention I had with the church.  Many of the churches (although, Thank you God, not all) would do exactly as he predicted.

I would take him shopping now and then and watch him count his money and calculate just what he could afford to buy for this person and that person. Be it a magnifying glass to help someone read their Bible better, or just a stuffed animal to bring them comfort, he was always on the lookout for something to help ease others pain and lighten their load. I thought of the widow throwing in her two mites, and I wept. I would not be surprised to find that the few dollars he spent on those trips meant more to God than a million dollar church.

Let me share with you something that will give you an idea of the spirit of God in this man, something I am only sharing because Ronnie has passed on.  One day, as I was beginning to visit with the folks there, Ronnie walked up.  I could tell he was agitated.  He pulled me aside and said he needed to talk with me, that he needed badly to confess something, that he had done something wrong.  This is not uncommon for people to approach me in this way sometimes, but it always puts me on edge, until the issue can be confessed and resolved.  So we immediately found an out of the way table and we sat.  I encouraged him to simply state the problem simply and let's get it prayed out, that God was more than willing to forgive a repentant heart. 

Now folks, I have heard some pretty lurid confessions, some pretty bad ones.  But nothing, ever, including my own, so bad that God wouldn't forgive.  But I have never heard a confession like I heard that day.  (And again, I share this because Ronnie has passed on, and I feel total peace in sharing this).  What Ronnie had been fretting over, what he had done wrong was this.  He had received some Christmas gifts from his sister.  And on the same day that he received them, he had seen some other residents sad that they had received none and Ronnie was moved with compassion for them and he gave them all away.  His perceived great wrong in all this was that he feared this would greatly hurt and possibly anger his sister.  Ronnie knew that generally when people give you a gift, they don't appreciate you giving it away.  It could be perceived as being disrespectful for the giver and the gift.  Truly, I had to sit back and laugh aloud, joyously, giving praise to God.  And then I took his hands in mine and asked a few questions that would resolve it.  First I asked, "Why did you give the presents away?".  Well, because he saw the others didn't have any and he wanted to make them happy.  Then the second, "Is your sister a Christian, in spirit and not just in name?"  The answer was yes.  I knew then, that there was no way this sister would be mad, not if she understood what he had actually done.  My wife and I prayed, had only good feelings, and advised him to call his sister immediately and tell her, and, ask for her forgiveness, if she was offended. But, we knew, I mean, we knew, she would not be, because of the answer to the real question, Was she Christian?  She would understand.  She did.  We talked about it at the funeral, Ronnie's sister and my wife and I.  In all our minds, it was a tribute to who and what Ronnie was.

Ronne would not have claimed to be a Bible scholar, but He studied God's word diligently, and put it in action.  He truly was a servant, and had no aspirations to be chief. Perhaps few people saw this in him, but because we were friends and he treated me as his minister/confidant, he let me see the secret works. Well, Ronnie, my friend, my brother - those secret works were the best sermon you could ever preach. Your sacrifice shames many churches. Ronnie treated me like a preacher, (I'm not) but he was truly a minister (in every meaning of the word).  I mourn the loss of people like my friend. Oh, there's no doubt he's in good hands. I do not mourn for Ronnie, I mourn for myself, I mourn for the other residents of the nursing home, for he will be sorely missed.

And as I wrote this, I felt depressed, but in the writing of this, God has raised my spirits. He will send another, and another, as many as needed. For every church that won't go, there will be just enough that will. He has reminded me that God is not dependant on us, nor on man's organized religion and rituals.  Sometimes we forget that we are dependant on Him and we don't truly listen, we don't truly obey.  But He can accomplish His Will regardless of us.  But because He loves us, He reaches out for us.  It pleases Him to work through us.  And one individual is enough, with God. Ronnie was truly God's servant. He will receive no glory in this life, but will receive just rewards in the end. God sends His people to the hungry, the poor, the oppressed. When we don't go, we cheat ourselves. When we lock ourselves up in our church buildings like refuges and refuse to come out, we only show our fear, or worse, our apathy. But don't be fooled, God will provide, someone will be sent. But woe to those that are called and refuse. I believe God will forgive you, but, later, can you forgive yourself? And thank you God, for those that you send to the fields, indeed the harvest is ripe. And Father, I pray for those that have lost their first love, please restore it. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and restore a right spirit within me.

At the funeral, there were only a few folks there, but it would be unwise to assume anything from that.  The very people that Ronnie helped the most, were, for the most part, physically unable to be there due to health.  But when I went to the nursing home the next day, I could see the sorrow, and I could sense the loss.  Ronnie is missed down here on earth Lord, specifically here at the home.  Please send another like him.  But, knowing You, You already have!

Ronnie, Thank you, my friend, for being my friend, for serving God in true humility and obedience, and for helping me to understand that God is most clearly seen in the places where the need is greatest . Until we meet again.

Your friend and brother

Steve