(Keep in mind that this post is from 9 years ago. I hesitated to share this again because Karen’s family has been through so much over the last several years. But this story must be shared – Rob is with his Savior, but the way he lived his life must continue to be lived out in us all! – Thom)
Father, I trust that it was You who got me up an hour earlier than usual. I went back to bed at first, but the more I lay there, the more I felt You were calling me to join You. I knew it wasn’t the enemy waking me – he surely doesn’t want us spending time together! So here we are. What would You say to me today, for I am here to listen?
As I sit here rocking in the recliner, Lord, I just can’t stop thinking about where I found myself last night. Karen and I both love our family very much, so we went to support Karen’s cousin’s family at a memorial service for a brother-in-law… Rob is his name. He was just a few months younger than me, and he had lost a hard-fought battle with cancer.
I had met him and knew who he was, but I didn’t really know him. But last night’s service sure opened my eyes. Beyond any doubt, Rob was a brother in Christ. Many shared his devotion to You, Lord – his determination to proclaim You to a world that so desperately needed to know. He held nothing back in his investment in the kingdom – wonderful stories of changed lives. He lived out Your call on his life.
However, one thing that must be stressed is that Rob was, by no means, a cookie-cutter Christian. From a distance, “typical” Christians would have had no idea that he lived his life for You – not because he didn’t live out his love for You but because he was not your “stereotypical” Christian. He was a biker through and through, with long hair pulled back in a ponytail, a mechanic, leather-wearing, hard-as-nails kind of guy. He was the kind of guy some would have been scared to death to run into in a dark alley…until they got to know him. Rob wasn’t perfect – none of us are. But many years ago, God broke through and found a “man after my own heart…” and most importantly, Rob fleshed out the rest of Acts 13:22, too, “he will do everything I want him to do.”
He may have been unconventional, but he was the real deal. There was no pretense – no façade – what You saw was what you got. One (of several) pastors who shared last night said something to the effect that in living out his life for Christ, Rob didn’t strive to be like other Christians – his hard-pressed goal was to be like Christ. And even beyond what family and friends closest to him knew, those whose lives touched Rob Barclay’s knew the love and devotion of a man after God’s own heart. May we all have no less of a goal.
(Feb 8th, 2016, Mon, 5:21 am)
Jan 5th, 2025, Sun, 6:29 pm
