Loving and Serving His Word - Daily Readings for Inspiration and Growth

Reading for December 30

A Life Well Lived

by Dave Quintana - Servants of the Word

One of my most memorable experiences was the death of a good brother in the SW, Rogel Plata. He contracted cancer in his early 30's and after a few year fight, died in March of 1996. I had lived with him in the Philippines towards the beginning of his struggle and had the privilege of traveling to the Philippines from Michigan for his wake and funeral. According to Filipino custom the wake transpired over a few day period and the 100's of people present each evening were tribute to the man of God and servant of God that Rogel was. It was moving for me to hear day after day, the countless stories and anecdotes of Rogel's life and ministry—and to realize how very much he lived on in the lives of these indebted people. The funeral was deeply inspiring as I pondered the impact of a life well lived. Carrying the casket with some other SW brothers to the gravesite was deeply moving as well. I suppose what was most powerful of everything was the finality of it all as we lowered the casket into the ground, and then began to throw dirt into the grave. I can still feel the grit of the damp earth in my hand, and I will forever have the fragrance of musty soil in my nostrils. I'm convinced that most of us would live better lives if we took a bit more time to reflect on our deaths. There is a finality to life here that is unavoidable. Death will come for every man. Yet as Christians we also believe in a love that is stronger than death. Let us reflect a bit today on the temporariness of life, the certainty of death, and on that love which transcends them both.

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1Thes 4:16-18 RSV

Daily Meds from the Q Source
by Dave Quintana, published by Tabor House, 2012

Dave Quintana's daily meditations and Bible readings to stir our minds and kindle our hearts in 2013. He explores themes important to all who search to be wise men and women in the Lord, and provides a wealth of personal experience from living and ministering in Central America, Asia, Europe, and the United States. Expect to be challenged. Expect to be inspired. Expect to meet the living and loving God. 

Dave Quintana is an elder of the Servants of the Word, a missionary brotherhood of men living single for the Lord.

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