“Let us ever walk with Jesus, follow His example pure…”. This is the opening line from one of my favorite hymns. As a child, I remember sitting in our church and looking through the bulletin and discovering that we would be singing Hymn #409. I was thrilled and pointed it out to my parents. Why? Because it was their wedding song. I loved to sing that song and imagined my parents walking down their wedding aisle with Jesus walking right beside them. As a child, I imagined it, but as an adult, I witnessed it first hand as they lived out their lives daily walking with Jesus.

What does that look like, to walk daily with Jesus, to follow His example pure? To do as the Lord told us to do, “to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8b NLT). It reminds me of a time when a friend was helping me walk through a difficult situation when I was in college and he asked me read Matthew 6:25-34 out loud. Those verses talk about not worrying about what to eat or drink, or what to wear, and it ends with “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:34 NLT). As I finished reading those verses out loud, he asked what I thought about it. I instantly blurted out, “Easier said than done!” Isn’t that also true with what God asks us to do in Micah 6:8, do what is right, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God? Sometimes it is easier said than done, but I was fortunate enough to see first hand as my parents lived this out.

My parents had a passion for people. That love overflowed into their lives as being the hands and feet of Jesus to everyone they met. They met people where they were at, no matter the situation. Did that mean they let people walk over them? I don’t think so. My dad would always say, “Love the sinner, hate the sin”. They tried to do what was right in God’s eyes, loving people where they were, but also letting them know if they were living in conflict to God’s Word. Doing what was right in the eyes of God was always their guiding compass.

That same passion they had for other people was a result of God’s love overflowing into their lives. Love exuded from them. They showed it by giving hugs to everyone they met and caring for everyone who crossed their path, whether a cashier at a store or a friend going through a difficult time. They even opened their home to those without one on more than one occasion. At my dad’s visitation, I was overwhelmed by the stories people shared of my parents helping so many others; from listening to them during times of struggles, to driving people to appointments, or just showing up when someone needed support. I walked away that night in awe, amazed at how my parents poured out love and kindness, not only into the lives of their own family, but to everyone around them.

There is no secret to how they did all of this; they just walked humbly with Jesus daily, following His example pure. Every morning, no matter where they were, Bible and journal were in hand. They started every day praying and reading God’s Word, having a conversation with their Heavenly Father. If they were staying at our home, my dad would be the first one up, making coffee and reading his Bible. One of my most special moments was when my dad was in hospice care in their home. My siblings and I would rotate weekends to stay up at night and help my dad out if needed, which allowed to my mom to get the rest she needed at night. During one of those nights, my dad and I sat at their dining room table, going through our Bibles, reading Psalms, singing songs, and just experiencing God’s Word. When you spend time with God daily, you soak up His goodness and grace and you reflect that in your life. It is what my parents did to walk humbly with their God.

My parents are now living in their heavenly home. They passed away within 18 months of each other, first my dad and then my mom. We would say it was because of a broken heart, even though she had no physical heart issues. They were a team on this earth; now they are together in heaven. At both of their funerals we sang their wedding song, “Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus”. That hymn was a reflection of their lives, “Ever in His footsteps treading, body here, yet soul above, full of faith and hope and love, let us do the Father’s bidding. Faithful Lord, abide with me; Savior, lead, I follow Thee.” The hymn ends with the words, “Jesus, here I live to Thee, also there eternally.” Soon we all will be living in our heavenly home, meeting our Savior face to face. God’s Word is what we need to know our Savior here and we do that by acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God.