A Lesson Learned From Grandpa

Genesis 28:20-22

20 Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. 22 And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”

I really like this story because it reminds me of lessons I learned from my grandpa. When I was one year old my mother divorced my dad and moved my older brother and me to Minnesota from New Jersey, where we were born. She re-married my step-dad when I was three years old. I grew up on a farm in Southern Minnesota and lived much of that time on the same farm site as my step-dad’s parents. My step-dad went from being a single man to a husband and a father of two boys when he married my mom. His parents did not have to show us love or even like us, but they did. Because I was so young when my mom moved us to Minnesota I only knew of my step-dad and his parents as my own, until I was around 7 years old. Then I realized that I had two dads, three grandpas and three grandmas. That was pretty cool.

Back to my step-dads father, Hjalmer. Everybody called him Jim. He raised 6 kids on the farm and had already lived for 72 years before I came into the picture. At his age and being Norwegian he was not one to show emotion a whole lot. He never really discussed his faith with me or with anyone else that I knew of. He was the kind that just lived it. You could see in his actions the faith he had. It wasn’t until he died that I found out he used to read the bible everyday before he went to sleep. He had read through it many times. At some point in time he had accepted Jesus as his savior and it showed by the way he lived his life. I wrote something that I shared at his funeral that the Lord gave to me in the middle of the night. I would like to share that with you today. (I will get to the verses after that.)

Thank You

I have a lot to be thankful for this day. I’m Thankful that I had the opportunity to get to know grandpa for over 25 years. I’m thankful that he accepted me into his family and treated my and loved me like I was one of his own. I’m thankful that he cared enough about me to discipline me when I needed it. I’m thankful that he loved me, even though he didn’t have to say it everyday. I know that he loved me. I’m thankful that he loved his family and worked hard to provide for them. He set an example for his children and grandchildren that many in this family have followed. He was a hard worker. I’m thankful he was married to grandma for 64 years. That is an awesom example for me to try and follow. I’m thankful he was an avid reader. Although he probably didn’t read all kinds of books, he read the most important book anyone can read many times. I’m talking about the book that has the answers to life’s questions, the Bible. He used to read it when he went to bed. He didn’t just read it once, but many times. He knew more about the bible than most people.

I’m thankful he found it important to bring his family here to worship on Sundays. He did everything he was supposed to as the spiritual head of his household for his family. Even though some of the pastors and teachers probably weren’t too thankful for having some of the Finstad boys in their classes. I;m thankful that he not only attended Albion, but he was an active partner in its ministry. He didn’t preach or sing, but he served on many boards and committees. He never aspired to have the spotlight.

I’m thankful that everyone here was able to share in his life. He obviously touched many people’s hearts to have all of you here. I’m thankful that he was able to make it to my wedding. I wanted him to see me make a commitment to my wife that I will be with her through anything that life can throw at us. I’m thankful that he was alive to see my son. Almost every time we went to the nursing home, he would hold Brady. One of the things I said to myself when I was growing up was that I wanted to provide grandpa with a great grandchild. Maybe it wa because I wanted to show him that I could a father like him. Although I don’t think I can convince my wife to have five more kids. More than anything though, I wanted to show him that I could raise my family the way he raised his.

I’m thankful that grandpa had the one thing he could never ever give to anyone else. He had, at some point in his life, accepted the gift of salvation, which is taught and preached here every Sunday. With the knowledge of having this gift, he wasn’t afraid of dying. He knew that when he died he was going to a better place. He knew that God loved him so much that He sent His only Son to die on the cross for him and take away all of his sins.

On Monday at 11:45 in the morning he walked through the gates of heaven and looked into the eyes of Jesus. What an awesome experience that must be to see that place and to be able to talk to Him face to face. He knows now the answers to all of the questions he ever had. I’m thankful that when I die and go to heaven I will walk through the gates and after meeting Jesus face to face, I will get to see grandpa and all of the other relatives and friends who have gone there before me. If there is one thing you want to be thankful of today, let it be that you have also accepted this free gift from God, so that when you die you know that you will get to see grandpa again when you go to heaven. So grandpa, all I can say today is THANK YOU.

I do not know to this day if anyone in my family committed their life to the Lord through this, but it was an opportunity that God brought about for me to share the Good News with them, all of them, in one spot at the same time. I pray that they did learn from grandpa just like Jacob did from his grandpa.

Jacob has just had his dream about a stairway to heaven and the Lord promised him that all the families of earth will be blessed through him and his descendants. Jacob was on his way to Haran to find his uncle Laban and marry one of his daughters when he stopped and slept in this place with his head on a stone. He decided after the dream that the Lord was in that place and named it Bethel.

Verses 20 and 21 are more like a challenge to God than they are a statement of his faith. He used the word "if" when he should not have. Notice in verse 21 he makes a statement that comes from learning from his dad and grandpa, "I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me." This is a statement about tithing of what God has given to him and the law had still not be given through Moses. This is another sign that the tithe is a measure of our level of worship to God. If we can't acknowledge Him by bringing to Him one-tenth of what He so freely gives to us, then we are not truly following Him.

Heavenly Father I bring to you today my tithe, joyfully and without restraint. I offer to you one-tenth of what You have so freely given to me. I give to You one-tenth of my time, my talent and my money. May the other nine-tenths be blessed beyond measure so that You get all the glory and honor and praise. Amen.