God created physical light . . . God said, ‘let there be light;’ and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:3-4

Jesus is the spiritual Light of the world . . . Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness . . .’ John 8:12

The Lord calls us to walk as children of the light . . . you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light . . . bearing fruit of goodness, righteousness and truth . . . exposing the deeds of the darkness. Ephesians 5:8-9, 11

The Lord calls us to take His light to the world . . . so that God’s salvation may reach to the ends of the earth . . . Isaiah 49:6 . . . making disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20

Two days ago, I sat in yet another funeral of a great man. But it was not a funeral filled with heaviness. Nor sense of loss, though there surely is a tremendous void in the life of his bride of 57 years, and his children and grandchildren. A loss shared by the many lives he touched throughout his life.

Rather it was powerful celebration of a life well lived . . .

A celebration, the magnitude of such unlike any I had ever witnessed. A celebration set apart by the impressive filling of a large church sanctuary by people from all over the world. A celebration set apart at the very beginning by the volume of those gathered singing the powerful hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness.  

For me, it was the amazing strength of men’s voices which gave me pause to stand and soak in the witness of those impacted by one who faithfully had carried the light of Christ to the nations of the world.

I was so taken back by the presence of Jesus among the sounds of fellow worshippers, I could not utter a sound . . . but stood wrapped in the love of God.

Scripture was read and digested. Words were spoken. We laughed. We cried. We remembered. We marveled at the breadth of his legacy as we celebrated his life.

We sang in solidarity of worship. And we listened to his grandsons and a daughter-in-law give testimony to God and to this one they adored through their songs.

We heard the testimony of another daughter-in-law and both his sons as they poured out their love and gratitude, revealing only more of what we all knew to be true.

We were reminded of the world wide career in ministry of this one saved by the grace of His Savior whom he adored, served and gave witness to all of his days.

What an uncommon legacy of Kingdom fruit stems from him and his wife, partners in ministry . . . from his children and grandchildren who live and serve in varying forms of ministry.

I am still processing what I heard. I pray I never forget. And I hope to emulate more of the spirit of this giant of a man’s life as I live in and for and through my Lord Jesus.

Thank you Milton Cunningham, for walking in and shining forth the Light of the Lord for all to see.

The Lord is my light and my salvation . . . Psalm 27:1a