The Meaningful Mark of One Family The last three months have marked a summer of significant deaths for us in the Christian world. Back in June our summer began with the death, after a lingering illness, of Ruth Bell Graham at age 87. Having grown up perennially watching Billy’s televised crusades, but, more so, receiving the Graham’s annual Christmas cards, I always felt as though Ruth was a part of our wider family. When I heard the news of her death, I mourned. The end of July brought the news of another death, that of Ray Ortlund at age 84. His name is not as familiar to most of you as Ruth Graham’s. In fact, you may never have heard it at all. Let me paint a brief picture of Ray’s significant life for Christ. Raised in Des Moines, Iowa of Swedish stock, he came to Christ in his youth in the old Swedish Covenant Church on Des Moines’ east side. He then attended the University of Redlands in California where he fell for a girl named Anne, the daughter of an Army general. After attending Princeton Seminary, Ray dedicated his life to clearly proclaiming the Bible as God’s Word, praying, “Lord, make my life a miracle!” Ray cut his teeth in two small churches in Pennsylvania and New York before settling in as the pastor of the vibrant Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena where he remained for the next twenty years. During his pastorate at Lake Avenue, Ray was used by God to impact a large and diverse group of people, everyone from Jesus-people hippies to many of the professors at Fuller Seminary. He also played a key role in the lives of young people in the 60s and 70s who would go on to be powerfully used by God in the years to come, like a scrawny, timid seminary student from South Carolina named John Piper. After leaving Lake Avenue, Ray broadened his base of gospel ministry as host of the radio program, The Haven of Rest , heard by millions. Ray and Anne authored more than twenty books which sold in the millions. But most of all, Ray’s great passion was personal discipleship, especially encouraging young Christian leaders to find their joy in God and stay in the fight. In the past month since his death, Internet blogs have been alive with the testimony of so many that it is evident that Ray’s life made a lasting difference for Christ. I’m writing this article to testify to that fact personally, though its not Ray’s preaching or books or mentoring for which I’m most thankful. I’m most thankful for his parenting and grandparenting. Let me explain. By the time I began my seminary training at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 1993, I already had an appreciation for him through his radio ministry. But my appreciation exponentially increased as I got to know his son, Ray Jr., a professor in Old Testament, during my years at Trinity. God spoke to me through many of my professors, but there was something different about Ray Ortlund Jr. He had an unusual zest for living—a carpe diem, take-no-prisoners kind of joy in life and God that was infectious. Ray was one of the first men to point me to the Puritans in pursuit of a more God-centered mind and life and heart. And he had the credibility to point me there, for I saw him living it. He seemed to ooze with a pursuit of holiness which was unmistakably tied to happiness. I didn’t know if Ray Ortlund Jr. was the holiest man I’d ever met, but I was convinced he was the happiest—and I wanted what he had. One evening Terri and I, along with some other couples, were invited by the Ortlunds into their home for dessert. We sat in their living room and soaked up Ray’s advice about ministry’s joys and challenges. It was a memorable evening, but what I remember most is Ray’s family. His wife Jani seemed as happy and peaceful and impassioned about Jesus as he was. And then I met three of his four children—Krista and Dane, wrapping up some homework, and young Gavin in his pajamas ready for bed. As I looked at them, I thought about the gift of growing up under the tall, shady, fruitful tree of at least two generations of happy, Christ-centered devotion. I wondered what their future lives would look like. Would the apples fall far from the tree? Would they abandon their Christian heritage and strike out on their own? Who would they become? This summer, in the wake of their grandfather’s death, I found out. Internet reports of Ray’s passing led me to his grandson Dane’s blog where he shares eight lessons from his grandfather’s rich life: My grandfather is, with a few possible exceptions, the most remarkable man I’ve ever known. My goal in the following list is not to erect a picture of a perfect man (which would only discourage us), but to ‘ consider the outcome of his way of life, and imitate his faith. ’ I want others to feel the weight of what God did with this very ordinary man and, with me, to be stirred up. 1. The Centrality of Love: when he came and spoke to the pastors of Missouri Presbytery of the PCA in 2004, with the chance to pick any text he wanted, he chose John 13: "A new commandment I give you: that you love one another." It was vintage Grandpa when halfway through his message he stopped and instructed the guys present to go around and tell their brothers that they loved them. A simple "I love you" from one pastor to another, face to face. Imagine! 2. The Importance of Joy: Nothing was more tragic, to Grandpa, than a morose believer. He was himself one of the happiest people I've ever known, and that is not without a good deal of heartache of his own. 3. The Bible as Food: Grandpa did not read the Bible mainly for information, but to feed his soul. In one of his books he writes, ‘ You don’t get food for your soul by osmosis! You can hear others talk of it; but until you yourself regularly take in that delicious Word of God, you’re undernourished! ’ I possess a Bible of his from the late 80's - every page is marked. Including 2 Chronicles and the second half of Joshua . 4. The Critical Place of Prayer: Often we would be together as a family and Grandpa would say, “Let’s stop and pray about this.” And there was no spiritual gamesmanship with the man--just honest, earnest talking to and pleading with the Lord. 5. The Secret Value of Repentance and Humility: One evening in Nashville when we were together as a family Grandpa had been telling me about how Fuller Seminary started in his church, and mentioned some of the big-wigs involved. The next morning, the first thing he said to me was: "Dane, I need to apologize to you about something. I was putting myself forward last night when I was talking about Fuller and those guys, and it was prideful, and I want to tell you I'm sorry and ask you to forgive me. I don't want to be a self-promoter." He was 82, had spoken to crowds of 100,000 in India, had had an international radio ministry, and written over 20 books. And he wanted to apologize to his grandson for being a self-promoter . 6. The Importance of Loving My Wife: In 2004, sitting in a booth at Chili's in St. Louis, Grandpa gave me a stinging rebuke for not studying Scripture with my wife. That day was a turning point for our marriage. 8. Strength in Weakness: Grandpa exemplifies the counterintuitive biblical truth that when we are weak, then we are strong. He was dyslexic and therefore a very slow reader, often felt huge waves of insecurity, and wrestled with what he called an "inferiority complex" early on in life. Yet God used him remarkably, and I believe it was not in spite of his weaknesses but because of them. They forced him to yield himself to the Lord in utter dependence. And I take much consolation in that, as a weak person myself. Grandpa knew that to say ‘ I don’t have what it takes ’ is exactly what it takes. I summarize the life of this man with Jesus' words to Peter in Matthew 16: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Grandpa lost his life. And therefore found it. Dane wrote this to shine the spotlight of God’s grace on his grandfather’s life. I’m printing it to reveal something profound and supernatural about Dane’s life, namely that the baton of gospel joy Ray Sr. passed on to Ray Jr., which I saw so clearly, has been passed on to Dane. If I had more time I could marshal equal evidence of God’s grace in his brothers’ and sister’s lives, too. Over the past several weeks the Christian world has been replete with testimonies of the life of Ray Ortlund Sr. based on the evidence of his life. No less, I present a testimony of God’s grace through the lives of his children and grandchildren. What began in the heart of one teenager in the Swedish Covenant Church in Des Moines, Iowa so many years ago, over the course of the second half of the twentieth century grew into a God-centered heritage whose wave has not yet crested. One man aflame with Christ is praiseworthy, but how much more a world aflame as his quiver of holy arrows fly and burn with zeal from generation to generation (Psalm 127:3-5)! ________________________________________________________________________________________ |