"So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13Our friend and brother, Jackie Street, has passed away from this life. In my fifty plus years on this earth, there have been only a few people that I remember to have lived or are now living the life that all believers in Christ are called to live. Jackie was one of them.
Jackie never said much. In fact, over the passed twenty plus years that I have known Jackie, and if I had recorded everything he said in my presence, which was many, many, many days in our lives, I probably couldn't give you more than a day's worth of him talking. But the things he did say were always meaningful to me even when I couldn't understand him. He loved God and His laws and he loved America and it's laws. He always had mounds of books and papers with him and he could quote many laws and show you how America had strayed so far from our beginnings. Then he would remind you of God's laws, and more importantly, God's character. He would remind you that in all of the mess we have made within the context of church or the context of government...LOVE was the most important thing to know and to abide by.
There are many teachings on what it will be like with the coming of Jesus. How He will come to reign on earth for a thousand years. I believe that He will come and I am looking forward to that day! In fact, I believe that day is very near and I pray that all of us will live to see Him come.
Something that the apostle Paul wrote, makes me think that when that day comes, my friend Jackie will rise from the dead. Paul writes in Romans 8:19 - 21; "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing (literal - unveiling) of the sons of God; for the creation itself was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of HIM who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God." And the apostle John wrote in Revelation 20: 4-5; "I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended."
In my understanding, many will reign with Christ for a thousand years. Those who are raised at the first resurrection are those who had committed their lives to Christ and refused to bow to the system (the beast or image of the beast) of this world. They are the ones who took seriously the words; "I have been crucified with Christ! It's no longer me that lives...but Christ who lives in me!" Galatians 2:20
Jackie taught everyone he met, not with words, but with his character. He humbled himself before God and man and lived a quiet and servant filled life. He never asked anyone for anything. He never took anything from anyone but gave generously when no one was looking so that he would not bring attention to himself. When hundreds came together to remember him this week and tell their stories, each person knew they were Jackie's closest friend. He would spend hours contacting each person he loved by phone, text messaging, or in person. I never knew the commitment he had with so many...I just thought he contacted me because I was a special friend to him. And I was....as was hundreds and hundreds of people around the world.
This servant of God lived in a manner that now makes me ashamed of whom I have become. With all that I do and how I try to live my life as a servant, I have never impacted those around me by being a man that was truly committed to love. To love unconditionally. To love without wanting something in return, to love because Jesus loved. To love because God is Love. Jackie knew he was created in the image of God and that was enough reason to love. He knew by reading the Scriptures that his genealogy went all the way back to Adam...who was a son of God. (Luke 3:38) I believe that Jackie's ministry was to help us all see that we are God's children and we need to live and act like His children. What an amazing thought! If only we believed we could.
You may have never had the privilege of meeting Jackie Street face to face, but you have heard his silent voice many times. If you have ever turned on your radio to listen to music, or bought a CD, Jackie could have very well been the one that laid down the foundation that made the song you cherish come alive in your heart. We will see Jackie again...but he will be in his new and improved glorious body, and I believe will be leading us in learning the righteous ways of God. He will again show us that the greatest gift of all is Love.
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