A Good Name
By Tom Barrett (05/19/04)
“A good name is to be more desired than great riches.” Proverbs 22:1. When we come to the end of our days, what could be more important than having a good name? Many people die owning possessions and money that they cannot take with them. But sadly, too few die owning a good name.
I attended the Memorial Service of Rev. Joseph Sheley yesterday. As I listened to speaker after speaker talk about Joe, it was clear that he was one of those who went to be with his Lord owning that most precious of possessions – a good name.
Joe was born in 1924. At the mid point of his life, when he was forty years old, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He went to heaven just a few months past his 80th birthday. He did more to serve the cause of Christ in just over half his life than many do in their entire lives.
Joe was not a flashy man. He was not one to push himself forward or to try to gain attention for himself. And he didn’t have much in terms of this world’s wealth. But he was a very rich man.
He was rich in family who treasured him. His wife Beverly is a marvelous woman who would do anything for him. For the last two years, and particularly the last six months, she has done everything for him. As Joe’s health declined, she took on more and more responsibility, including taking him to kidney dialysis three times a week. This was hard on her, but, like Joe, she never complained. She loved him as few men have been loved. Their marriage of almost sixty years is one that we can all admire and should try to emulate.
Joe’s children, grand-children, and great grand-children loved him, and with good reason. He loved them with all his heart, and taught them important life lessons that will stand them in good stead for as long as they walk the earth. As in all families, there were trials and disappointments, but Joe never gave up on anyone and always offered unconditional love to his family. And they adored him.
He was rich in the esteem in which others held him. That was evident in the faces of the many who came to honor him at his memorial service. I had told his wonderful wife, Beverly, that there would be standing room only. And indeed the ushers had to keep bringing in more and more chairs as people arrived.
If, as in many funerals, the minister had opened the floor for anyone to share their thoughts regarding Joe, we would have been there for hours. Instead, Beverly chose eight people, including Pastor Gonzalez, who officiated, to speak. Although I have known Joe since I was a teenager, I learned many wonderful things about him during that service for the first time. One thing that was not a surprise was when one speaker mentioned that he had never heard Joe speak a harsh word about anyone.
He was rich in the love that literally thousands of people felt for him. Shortly after he became a Christian, Joe founded a home where he ministered to young people with drug problems. Later he was an integral part of the Holy Spirit teaching mission in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which was instrumental in the spread of the Charismatic renewal in the United States and abroad. He was the Spiritual Advisor for the Broward County Women’s Aglow. He and his wife led home fellowship groups which effected many families. He ministered to Viet Nam veterans and their families. For the last seventeen years he was the Elder for Southeast Florida of the Gospel Crusade Ministerial Fellowship. In that capacity he was a pastor to ministers, advising them and encouraging them in their various ministries.
There are probably many other ministries in which Joe was involved over the last forty years of which I am not aware. He touched thousands of people in his ministry. We won’t know until we reach Heaven how many people came to faith as a result of Joe’s ministry. But we can be sure they all loved him as a father in the Lord.
Finally, he was rich in that he had a good name, indeed a great name. I mentioned earlier that someone said that he had never heard Joe Sheley speak ill of anyone. I can also say that I have never heard anyone speak ill of Joe. Joe was a man of honor who always kept his word. He always had time for anyone who needed him, even when he was very sick. Many of us who visited him in the various hospitals and nursing homes remarked that while we were there he was always ministering to us and encouraging us!
I don’t want to make it sound as if Joe was somehow perfect; there is only One Who has that distinction. But Joe was a man among men. He was special in many wonderful ways. He accomplished many things for the Lord about which he could have boasted. I never heard him do so. He had great authority as a man of God who was greatly respected, but he never abused it. Many came to him for his wise counsel, and he never broke their confidence. He had a good name, and he will be remembered.
For the last two years, my six-year-old daughter, Sarah, has prayed every night for “Mr. Joe” (we don’t allow her to call adults by their first names). The night I heard that Joe had gone to be with the Lord, I told her that we didn’t need to pray for him any more, because he was now totally healed. She asked me, as some adults have, why God didn’t heal him by taking away his illnesses and letting him stay here. I told her that God decides when to take people home, and that Joe now has a perfect body in heaven. And I know that he is using his new body to sing and dance around the throne of the Lord in worship, because his favorite thing on this earth was to worship the Lord.
In fact, Joe’s memorial service reflected this aspect of his life. This was not a sad occasion with dirge-like music. We honored Joe by honoring the Lord with praise and worship to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. We sang, we laughed, and we remembered the good things: Joe’s thousand-watt smile, his wonderful sense of humor, the way he loved life and people.
On a personal note, Joe was a friend and mentor to me. I spent many hours over the years in conversation with him, availing myself of his wisdom and counsel. I learned a lot from Joe, both about life and about ministry. I can only pray that when I come to the end of my days, I will be considered to be half the man Joe Sheley was.
Joe, you have fought a good fight, you have finished your course, and you have kept the faith. You have received a crown of righteousness from your Lord. And you have entered into His rest. We will miss you, but we rejoice that you are in the presence of the One Whom you loved more than your own life. Enjoy your reward.
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