My Dad

Today is the tenth anniversary of my dad's death. Vernon Paul Horn, 77, passed away March 24, 1998. Father of Paula (Gary) of Pueblo, Gail (Bryan) of Colorado Springs, Keith (Rondii) of Pueblo. Also survived by his sister, Wilma of Lamar; brother Leslie of Springfield CO; grandchildren, Aaron, Jennifer, Caleb, Benjamin and Travis. Preceded in death by his wife, Margaret on December 5, 1997; parents Arthur and Goldie; brother, Calvin; and sister Alma. Born August 19, 1920 in Las Animas, CO. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army during World War II and was a POW in Germany for more than a year. He also received a Purple Heart for being shot in the leg. He owned and operated Vern's Alignment Service until his retirement. His favorite pastime was fishing. His funeral service was on March 28, 1998, and he was buried at Mountain View Cemetery.

Dad was a wonderful provider. He was faithful to his wife and his family. He trusted Christ as his Savior when I was in 5th grade. He attended church after his salvation for a short time and for awhile sometime later. He read his Bible quite a bit and was faithful to tithe. I didn't know he had a sense of humor until I was an adult, probably because I didn't understand it.

As a mechanic with his own business for many years, Dad was scrupulously honest and fair. One time a man drove his own car up on the car rack so Dad could look under the car. Well, the man didn't have permission and ended up driving his car off the rack. My dad went ahead and fixed the damage for him.

Dad was a great fisherman for many years. Mostly he fished up and down the Arkansas River. He didn't really like to eat trout, so he ended up releasing them or giving them away to pleased strangers or friends.

When my mother passed away in December, three months before he did, it was a difficult time for him. The family, two caregivers and a friend stayed with him around the clock. I think at the beginning of that time he probably could have taken care of himself, but I think he didn't want to be alone in the house. Just before Christmas that year, Dad went into the hospital to have a hernia corrected. At that time he was found to have lung cancer. He told me he wished he had stopped smoking sooner.

On Sunday, 03/22/98, while my sister was staying with my dad, he told her to call an ambulance because something was very wrong. He was taken to the hospital that afternoon. Very quickly he lost many of his abilities until by Tuesday he was in a coma. He passed away that evening while several family members were there with him.

Dad was a good man. He always tried to do things right. I remember when some of us were out in the parking lot of the hospital right after he died, I told my uncle I wished I had told Dad to tell my mom hello. He said that by the time Dad got to do that, I would be up there myself. He meant that time is very short and even if I lived another 50 years, it would just be a very short time.

Your time is short too. Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior? Are you ready to go?

Why No Angels?

Something I have pondered lately is the fact that there were so few visible angels at the empty tomb. At Christ's birth there were many angels, and several angels had been involved in several events before the birth. At the actual birth there was a multitude of them praising God. This makes me think that the angels had been aware of this coming event for a long time and had been looking forward to it. It was a wondrous and magnificent thing in their angel existence.

But when the death, burial and resurrection took place, there were very few angels involved, at least ones that could be seen. The birth was absolutely necessary to fulfill Scripture and to accomplish the many aspects of Jesus' life. The death, burial and resurrection also fulfilled Scripture and were accomplished in obedience to the Father, but they also fulfilled God's eternal plan for the saving of mankind. It was not a careless, haphazard plan. It was the plan to bring us to God in the only way possible--the perfect Lamb of God giving His life for fatally flawed humans.

So where were all the angels? Could they not bear to see the Christ, the God of Heaven, give His life on a shameful cross? Maybe they like God the Father had to turn away from Christ as the weight of sin was put on His shoulders. By the time we become aware of the angel at the tomb, the angel's part is almost low key. Or maybe it didn't take a whole heavenly host to announce that Jesus wasn't there anymore because he had risen.

I wish there had been a thousand angels announcing what had been accomplished that day. But God, Who truly is omniscient, executed the events in a different way. Since one angel made a very short announcement about the resurrection, we have to think about it for ourselves. We are not sidetracked by the magnificence of heavenly angels, but instead we are wholly caught up in the words "He is not here for He is risen." Wonderful, amazing, joy-causing, humbling, mystifying. Praise God!