Ida Stewart, one of the original members of our fellowship at Three Lakes Community Bible Church passed away this past Friday morning. The previous Sunday several of the EMT’s who attend our church had to leave the service to take Ida to the hospital in an ambulance. It would be the final of quite a number of such rides for her over the past year.
She suffered from congestive heart failure and some other complications. Since it appeared that she was nearing the end of her earthly life, her family was called to come if they could. Well they did, and they kept coming and kept coming. Our local hospital had never witnessed such a phenomenon. You see Ida had 7 children, 24 grandchildren, 40 great grandchildren, and 3 great, great grandchildren. She found out about one more while she was in the hospital! All told, there are some 102 in the family–they think!!
Anyway, everywhere you looked there were Ida’s family members. The hospital was very gracious and accommodating and opened up a couple rooms in the Maternity wing where the family could hang out–along with the waiting rooms. Some of the grandkids were with her 24-7 each day before she passed away. It was quite a “scene.”
Ida’s first husband had died when she was only 36 and she’d had to raise her seven children (5 boys and 2 girls) by herself, so she’d had to be one strong lady and continued to be. Even as her body was shutting down, she hung on until the family could come. During her final hour here, her husband Ellis (whom Ida married after her kids were grown), asked everyone else to leave the room so he could have some alone time with Ida. He told her it was okay, she could let go now and ten minutes later her soul and spirit were with the Lord!
When Ida had moved to our area, she was not a Christian, but through the witness of my father-in-law, Pastor Clarence Kutz and a “circuit-riding missionary” by the name of Sam Gupton with American Sunday School Union, Ida received Christ as her Savior. She and her new husband, Ellis Stewart (also a believer) began coming to the newly founded church where I have pastored for some 35 years.
They also donated some of their property to begin Elohim Bible Camp and Retreat Center, which is now run by Rocky Mountain Bible Mission. Ida was our head cook for the first years of camp. (She made some yummy giant cinnamon rolls!) Ellis and Ida had a real burden to reach children with the Gospel of Christ and felt helping to start a Bible camp was one way they could help.
That was in 1978 and since then, thousands of children–and adults–have been ministered to at Elohim, and many have come to know Christ there and today some of them are serving the Lord as full-time Christian workers, pastors, and missionaries. Most of Ida’s grandchildren and great grandchildren have attended the camp. Ida’s burden to see children introduced to her Savior motivated her to share Christ with her family. She was a very bold witness for Christ. Her biggest concern for each of her children and their families was that they know Christ and walk with him. Up to her last conscious moments she was sharing her faith with each one.
One of the nurses in the hospital who had gotten to know Ida from her many trips to the hospital, was so moved by her and her family, that, even though she was off duty, came in the final night, sensing it might be Ida’s last, to care for her. Her life was quite a testimony, not only to her own family, but to all she met. As I’ve observed the passing on of faith in Ida’s family, I’m reminded of our biblical responsibility to provide a godly heritage. Many people work hard to leave behind material possessions to their children, but that is just “stuff” that will pass away.
But, when we introduce our family to Christ and encourage them to walk with the Lord and to share with their children, we are able to have an eternal impact and affect generations to come. In Psa. 78 we read, “For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should teach them to their children. That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, that they should put their confidence in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments” (Psa. 78:5-7).
In the great “confession of faith” of Judaism recorded in Deut. 6, we read, “And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart, and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. And you shall write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates…When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which the LORD commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and the LORD brought us from Egypt with a mighty hand…’” (Dt. 6:6-9,20,21).
You may not be a “Billy Graham” or a “Louis Palau,” that has been able to preach to millions. You may not be a pastor or a Sunday school teacher or a youth leader or a missionary to some unreached people group, but, if you are a believer, you are an Ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20) and have a responsibility (and privilege) of representing Christ at least to your own family and “bringing them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). And, hopefully, you will also share Him with others that God brings into your life.
There is no greater joy than to hear of your children (both physical and spiritual offspring) walking in the truth (3 Jn 4).
What are you doing to leave behind a godly heritage?
-Pastor Dave Nelson Libby, MT
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