Interview with Bob Jennings before he died

I went to a HeartCry Missionary Conference at Waldo Baptist Church with a group from college in 2005. A few days ago I learned that one of the speakers, Bob Jennings died almost a year ago. I started Googling and found an interview with Bob made about a year before he died. A few of his thoughts have stuck with me the past few days.

I've been very mindful as a Christian that my life is brief. You hear older Christians say that, you know and preachers tell you that always. From right when I was first converted I was very mindful that my life is brief and that we don't have much time and that it is going to go by so quickly. The scripture says it over and over again comparing our life to a sleep, comparing our life to runner that passes by, comparing our life to a grass. Not rocks, but grass. Not trees, but grass. And I am very aware of that, but now it has happened.

I can remember in my 20s it was like there was something special for each year. I had the thought, I am going to try and remember something about every year and for quite a while I could. But then the years … somehow they piled up, they go on and things get blurry it all get muddled together and you can't remember something from every year. The children were young. I can hardly believe how quickly the years went by where the children were in the house with us. Just all of a sudden the children are grown up and moving out and its all over. The chapter is closed. All you can do is make every day count for Christ.

At one point the interviewer asked Bob what he would do if he could live for twelve more years.

One thing that I would so like to do is read the Bible more. I mean, just conquer the Bible. And seek to be more useful as a soul winner. I mean there is not much of that going on. There is a lot of evangelism going on, but it is such a privilege and a rare thing to be used of God in winning souls.

Towards the end of the interview Bob is asked how he wants people to remember him in the years to come once he passes away.

I think every Christian would like to be remembered as a lover of Christ. I mean, 7 or 8 years ago we started this produce farming, and you know, here are some pictures of me standing beside a tractor or something like that. You do not want to be remembered for that. That is just nothing. You want to be remembered as a follower of the Lamb.

Its something isn't it, really that that is all we have. All we have is the Lord. I mean, we are in a world where sin and death is reigning and it is just going to peel and strip away from us our most intimate relationships. Our wife, our children everything is going to be stripped. And that is really all we have is Christ. Collosians 3:11 “Christ is all”. But you want to be able to say good bye to your loved ones with everything clean, everything clean and no regrets, no bad feelings, no bitterness. That's got to be big.