My Dad Taught Me The Meaning Of Life In His 82 Years
In the eulogy to our dad, we share about good, evil, and the most important thing I ever learned.
My Dad Taught Me The Meaning Of Life In His 82 Years
We lost our father after a battle with Cancer.
What he taught me about Good, Evil, and Life in his eulogy
There is no script or notes. Below is the transcribed text from our eulogy and the video
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Our father taught us the meaning of life in his 82 years
I'm going to try to keep it short by talking about how that applied to his faith and his life
My dad and I would talk about civilization, how it started, inception and how all our stories are relatively similar
In the beginning there was darkness. Genesis 2 - then GOD created light. And He said it was good.
And we live in this fallen world. My dad and I would talk about it a lot. All of us who live in this world know what that feels like. We're surrounded by things that can harm us or hurt us. And they evolve in new ways to do so all the time.
The most terrifying thing about it, about the darkness, the evil we know, is that it is relentless. It never stops coming.
It was written that 'a man could die on this earth and it would soak up his blood and not stop spinning.'
It's in that setting that people can do terrible things to each other.
It's where the darkness is at it's darkest.
But GOD created light. And he called it "Good."
And we see that, too, in our lives.
Whether we're hiking with our dad at Vernal Falls in Yosemite, as we used to do over spring break, or he would tell me about how he and his buddies would fly the boat plane off the shores of Camarillo with the doors open skimming against the ocean.
But, like the darkness, nowhere is the Light more radiant than in each other. In how we treat each other.
When somebody shares with you their gift of art or music.
Or like my dad showed me, they put others in front of themselves, no matter what
We're encouraged in Matthew to "Let your light so shine before men so that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven." The verse prior encourages us "For what good is a lamp if it is underneath a basket? It has to be on a lampstand for the whole world to see."
And that's the rub. Because we know from living in this world if you have the courage to stand on a lampstand, evil will come. The Darkness will come.
And that's what requires courage.
A lot of times when we think about courage, we think about the courage of the moment. Do we have the courage of the protagonist who stands in front of the dragon and slays the evil?
But my dad taught me through his life that there is a more reverential form of courage. One that does the right thing all the time. That shines Light all the time.
My dad was born in rural Nebraska in 1941.
When he was too young, tragedy struck and he lost his father.
My aunt told me once that "your father was responsible for us long before he was responsible for you. Nobody will be let down. Not on John Knopp's watch." And that's what he was like.
Just over a decade later he met the most radiant light in his life. Problem was she lived in California and he lived in Michigan. And work wasn't going to let him go. He pursued it, and moved to California.
He married my mom and they started a family.
Now our family was dealt some cards we prefer we weren't. Some things that would justify a man's Light being dimmed. But not my dad.
I could tell hundreds of stories about my dad giving time to school, work, church, but I want to share one that I think is the most absurd because it speaks to his character.
I believe our dad has the worst win/loss record in AYSO soccer history. And it's not close.
He coached soccer for thirty years.
He knows nothing about soccer.
He never played it. They didn't have it where he grew up.
He did it because he saw us go through it and he saw the teams that didn't have coaches and needed one.
And for anyone who knows the gauntlet that is youth sports, the team that doesn't have a coach is usually not very good. But he would take them every year. Sometimes two teams.
He would also umpire youth softball. If you want to know what pain is, try umpiring youth softball. And that's who he was.
Galatians tells us "don't ever grow tired of doing the right thing. And he didn't.
As he got older his health started to fade.
He would drop by the house to drop off milk or because he heard his grandson had a new affinity for chess (this is the tough part). I don't think you could convince me that a burning bush is brighter than watching those two play chess. The Light was so bright.
His fingers would be bent the wrong direction. His knee would be twice the size it should be. Or his ankle would too. But he did not complain. All he wanted to do was help other people.
Eventually, the darkness came with its strongest weapon. The one we'll all face. Why we're here today.
In Matthew 4, it's the temptation of the Christ and satan is with JESUS in the desert. And JESUS is fasting.
Satan says to him: "If you are GOD, why don't you get yourself food or drink." JESUS says "Man doesn't live on bread alone.”
When he was about to go, the hospice nurse told us that oftentimes people will hold on for their loved ones and we should try to leave the room.
He finally did pass with my mom upstairs and my sister in the kitchen.
I find that beautiful because it means we live on the light from each other more than anything else.
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When we're introduced to the strongest force in the universe, we're given its characteristics in Corinthians 13, a verse we all know.
Love is patient.
Love is kind.
And it rattles off the characteristics of what love is.
They grow more powerful as we go through the verse until we get to the end, which is the most powerful, and is only three words.
Love Never Fails
Love Never Fails.
For though the darkness is relentless, and I can attest it is.
We are eternal.
If we dare stand on a lampstand, nothing can put out our light.
The murder weapon there on my right is proof.
This story is written.
The finale has already been told.
Love Wins.
So that brings us to the meaning of life as taught to me by my dad in his 82 years.
And it's so simple.
If we know we live in a fallen world.
If we know the darkness is going to come for us if we dare stand on a lampstand, then why are we here?
The meaning of life is to share as much Light as we can
With as many as we can
For as long as we can
With the promise that Love never fails
And I know this because I watched my dad do it.
GOD, he was perfect in all his imperfections. Thank You for letting us have him for as long as we did.
Dad I will see you again. But I have a lampstand to stand on. And like you, no one will be let down, not on my watch.
Thank You for having me. And one last thing:
Through all the goods and bad of life we espouse a lot of things to our children and he espoused a lot to me but there's one truth: