The body of Christ experienced the loss of one of its steadfast members this past Friday evening. Pastor Ray Persson was 93 years old when he passed into glory last week. Praise the Lord, that as brothers and sisters in Christ we can rejoice amidst sorrow. We know that many years ago Pastor Ray trusted in the finished work of Christ on Calvary for salvation and he became a possessor of eternal life in Christ. He had believed in the One who is able to save to the uttermost!
We “need not grieve as do the rest who have no hope” wrote the Apostle Paul, but sorrow is OK and is not a sign that our faith is lacking. The Apostle Paul, a man who loved the Lord and lived a life that was marked by faith wrote these words in Philippians 2:25-27; “But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.”
Although he knew of the victory and hope possessed by the believer in Christ, Paul acknowledged that sorrow was still something that was real in the life of the Christian. But he rejoiced in the “God of all comfort” and the “Father of Mercies”.
I had the privilege of meeting and becoming acquainted with Pastor Ray as he attended the Lewis and Clark Bible Church these past few years with his daughter her family. I had the privilege of having him in my Sunday School Class on many occasions. His presence was edifying to the class and to our church.
In the few years that I had the privilege to know him, I saw Pastor Ray, first and foremost, as a man who loved the Lord Jesus. He loved his family, he loved his brothers and sisters in Christ and he had a heart for the lost. He was kind, gentle and humble. He was an encouragement to others. He was one of those rare men that I have known that you could sense the presence of Christ in him.
As I read Pastor Ray’s obituary earlier in the week I noted these words that were written; “He served in the U.S. Army, Merchant Marine and Navy for five years, and received the World War II Victory Medal. He was a machinist's mate on the battleship USS Iowa.”
I’m reminded of another battle that Pastor Ray served in. A struggle that the Apostle Paul said “is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” As a soldier in this struggle Pastor Ray served faithfully for many years and for that I am thankful. He served as a preacher of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He served as a husband, a father, a grandfather. He served as a fellow worker with others in the ministry. He served as a neighbor, a friend, a prayer warrior. And in his later years, to me and to many others, he continued to serve as an example of faithfulness.
As a soldier in this service, there was no retirement or inactive duty for Pastor Ray. He served until he could serve no more while “in the body”. Until his death this past Friday evening, Pastor Ray’s desire was to please the One who had enlisted him as a soldier in this service. He was a fighter of the good fight of faith. He finished his course. He kept the faith. In this life he received the World War II Victory Medal; the Lord will now award him the crown of righteousness.
In 1st Corinthians 15:58 the Apostle Paul was inspired to call believers to a standard of Christian living. Pastor Ray Persson heeded that call. In that passage, Paul wrote these words, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” Pastor Ray understood that his enlistment into the Lord’s service was not for a tour of duty of his own choosing. Not for 4 years or 8, or even 25. But for decades he was steadfast, immovable and abounding in the work of the Lord. Like the Apostle Paul, if Pastor Ray was here today he would tell you that these things were true in his life by the grace of God and the indwelling presence of Christ in his life. As I had seen him do before, He would give Christ the glory.
Pastor Ray has come to know quite well that his toil was not in vain in the Lord. Scripture tells the believer that to be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord. Pastor Ray is present with the Lord today. In Philippians 1:23, Paul spoke of the conflict of feelings that he had about serving Christ in this life and being with Christ. He said that “to depart and be with Christ”, was “very much better;” Service was necessary and rewarding, but nothing could compare with being in the presence of his savior. Pastor Ray now knows that which Paul said was “very much better”. Praise God!
Let me repeat those last few words. “Though he is dead, he still speaks.” Today, Pastor Ray is absent from the body and present with the Lord. His service “in the body” is over. But make no mistake, ask members his family, ask anyone who knew him, and they will tell you that he still speaks today. And I am convinced that he will continue to speak for many years to come. He speaks now by the life of faith that he lived for those many years. May Pastor Ray’s life be an example and a reminder to each of us, that the opportunity that God gives us to continue to speak of Christ and faithfulness after our death is determined by the life that we live now.
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