A Tribute To A Man I Never Met

 

We do not grieve as those who have no hope. We encourage one another with these words. (1Thess. 4:13-18)

 

I am currently watching so many collectively mourn the death of a man they never met, yet who greatly impacted their lives for the better. I am one of those people. 

How is it possible to so acutely feel a loss that isn’t “close to home”, the loss of someone whose face I have never seen (aside from a picture) but only heard his voice and seen his words typed out? I have been crying on and off since I found out, and I anticipate that will not stop soon. The world is darker because he is gone. 

And that proves that he was a bright light, not only in my life but I know in countless other’s lives as well. The world desperately needed his gentleness, his compassion, his love for people, for truth, and for Jesus. He was a balm to the soul and an oasis for many, myself included. 

He helped me to see that not all pastors are the same. That not all men are the same. Social media is a cesspool of hateful men who demean women and seek to dominate and ridicule them, but this man… this man advocated for women and proved that Jesus loved us despite how others may treat us. He showed how the Bible was actually FOR women and protected us, how Jesus bucked the system and provided for and humanized those that others would take advantage of and dehumanize. 

I know that this man helped set so many free by pointing them to Jesus, and showing them the heart of Jesus.

And I am still in awe at how his presence has left a hole in the lives of so many who never met him. I think it shows how desperately the Christian world (and truly the world in general) needs quiet gentle souls. Those who love others well; who listen; who encourage others to listen; who seek the heart of God and not the letter of the law- and truly those who seek to understand the law in light of the gospel. 
You never know the far reaching impact you can have on others, for good or bad. People make fun of online community, but for so many, those real people in our lives were hurtful, harmful, dismissive or absent, and social media has helped us not feel solitary and find like minded people when we felt so alone and unloved, and provided us with real deep friendships.

I never got to tell him thank you. I never got to express my gratitude for… for everything. I never got to tell him how he helped to change the trajectory of my life. I hope he knows… I am so grateful to know that I will one day get to see him and tell him “Thank you” in person. I am confident this man is in the presence of the One Whose name and love he constantly spoke of and demonstrated. 

I am broken-hearted, yet full of hope. This man will be greatly missed and yet not forgotten as his voice remains, and as the impact of his life remains imprinted on so many. 

Never underestimate the power of a gentle and quiet spirit and loving like Jesus, especially in a world where macho, tough, brash, and harsh “masculinity” is heralded. 

Here is a wonderful devotional he wrote:

A Devotional From Pastor Todd Bordow:

“Why do I fear being commanded not to fear?

 
Have you ever been told in a time of fear or worry that the bible commands you not to fear? Has that ever really helped? Be honest. Have you ever wondered why that does not help, and often makes you feel worse? 
 
There are two reasons for this. First, Christian peace does not mean the absence of all emotions of fear or worry. Fear and worry in the proper contexts are actually healthy. If a bear is chasing you in the woods, and you are not reacting in fear, you are a fool. If you are walking around downtown alone at 2:00am Saturday morning, and you are not anxious, something is wrong with you (assuming you are not Chuck Norris). 
 
On a more serious level, imagine if your child came down with this virus, and was in the hospital on a ventilator. Now imagine as you were pacing in the waiting room, frantic with worry, a Christian tells you, “God said do not be anxious. Obey him in this and you will have peace.” Would that help? No, those words would do more damage than good. Does the Lord really expect us to be so spiritual that we would not fear for our children’s lives? If that is the case, the Apostle Paul must have been a very weak Christian for staying up at night worrying about the churches. Where was his faith? 
 
The Lord constantly in Scripture reassures our fears, because we fear. That is partly what it means to be human. God reassures us in our worries, because as human beings, we worry. The Bible never suggests that there is something we can pray, do or think that causes all emotions of fear or anxiousness to simply vanish. Life would be so easy if that were the case. But it is not. It is in the midst of fear that He comforts us with His love and power. We can actually fear, and have faith, at the same time. Psalm 119:50 - “This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.”
 
The second reason the calls to not fear or worry prove useless is when they are presented more as law than gospel. The words “do not fear,” and “do not worry,” become conditions in which to receive God’s blessings of peace. If you stop fearing and worrying, God will do this… If we could obey a law that could bring us God’s blessings, Jesus would not have needed to die for us. When “do not fear” is treated as a law, it only reminds us how we fall short of obeying God’s law. When you think back to all the times in life you were desperately worried or fearful of something, did it ever really change anything to hear, “God says you shouldn’t worry.” No, the law has no power to calm our fears.
 
But the gospel does! When we are reminded that the God of love and power has forgiven all of our sins, that our blessings from Him are mediated through Christ; not given based on our obedience, then we are assured that God has a plan for all this because He loves us unconditionally. This does not take away every human emotion like anxiousness and fear, but it reminds us that we have God’s plan, love and care in the midst of our fears. 
 
The words, “do not fear” do not come to us as a command in Scripture, that if we obey this God will then bless us. The encouragement to not fear comes to us as gospel. Jesus paid for every one of our sins; He was righteous for us. God assures us in Christ that He will provide. That is why we can trust Him with our fears. He cannot help but provide according to His good will because He promised that all those who come to His Son for refuge from sin He would never turn away.  In Christ we always possess God’s full love and provision unto eternity because Jesus is our Savior, however we are feeling at the moment. 
So Beloved, when the Bible says, “do not fear,” or “do not be anxious,” do not think law; think gospel; think, “Jesus died for you.” And believing, allow yourselves to be human. God does.”

“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”

~ J.R.R. Tolkien