Some of you may have known Dean Ramsey. He died last week. I can remember having dinner with him, spending time with him, and talking with him last Christmas in Dodge City, Kansas.
Over the years Dean and his wife, Glenna, have sent my brothers and I Christmas ornaments every single year. They were friends of my maternal grand parents, and through them friends with our entire family. I spent time in their home in southern California when I lived out there.
Death is a part of life, as we all know. This year I know I won’t be getting a Christmas ornament from Dean Ramsey. Yet I am thankful for all the years he sent me an ornament before. I have those gifts of love he gave me as a testimony to the love he had for those in his life.
None of us know the day or hour we will meet the end of our existence in this mortal coil. What will happen to everything we have done and collected at that point? This question is part of Jesus’ parable of the rich fool, which is Illuminated in “A Few Weeks Later” on the Cyan DVD. In the parable, Jesus says this about the rich fool;
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:20-21
How can we be rich towards God?
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:34
“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” Luke 16:9
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” 1 Tim. 6:17-19
Dean Ramsey shared, he was generous, he was rich towards God. Yes, all he ever gave me was a Christmas ornament every year. Yes, I am calling that a good deed. Because a gift of love, no matter how small, is always a treasure.
Dean Ramsey
Some of you may have known Dean Ramsey. He died last week. I can remember having dinner with him, spending time with him, and talking with him last Christmas in Dodge City, Kansas.
Over the years Dean and his wife, Glenna, have sent my brothers and I Christmas ornaments every single year. They were friends of my maternal grand parents, and through them friends with our entire family. I spent time in their home in southern California when I lived out there.
Death is a part of life, as we all know. This year I know I won’t be getting a Christmas ornament from Dean Ramsey. Yet I am thankful for all the years he sent me an ornament before. I have those gifts of love he gave me as a testimony to the love he had for those in his life.
None of us know the day or hour we will meet the end of our existence in this mortal coil. What will happen to everything we have done and collected at that point? This question is part of Jesus’ parable of the rich fool, which is Illuminated in “A Few Weeks Later” on the Cyan DVD. In the parable, Jesus says this about the rich fool;
How can we be rich towards God?
Dean Ramsey shared, he was generous, he was rich towards God. Yes, all he ever gave me was a Christmas ornament every year. Yes, I am calling that a good deed. Because a gift of love, no matter how small, is always a treasure.