Elmer MacDonald: An Instrument of God’s Grace

Last week we looked at the ancient custom of tearing your clothes in grief and indignation. As I dived into the word I couldn’t help but think of a dear friend, from my little country church in rural Prince Edward Island, who passed away on January 27th.

Elmer MacDonald was very dear to me. He was the one who greeted us on our first day trying out this church. His initial conversation with us made Kevin want to return, and after the second week we knew this was the faith community for us. We are part of this congregation today because Elmer took time to be welcoming and kind to a rather reserved family of introverts.

Elmer emitted a kind of Godly love. There are two words for love in the Hebrew Bible: ahava and khesed. Ahava is a surface love found in statements like, I love chocolate and I love my family. Do we love them the same amount? No, yet the same word is used to describe both scenarios. Khesed, on the other hand, is love in action. Essentially it is a visual expression resulting in lovingkindness or loyal love. God’s love is almost always referred to as khesed. This love shows up in His mercy, kindness, and devotion. This was the kind of love that Elmer expressed in his community. [Check out the original post: Khesed: Loyal Love in Action].

Elmer was a man who bore the image of God well. He was kind and encouraging. He was involved in the community, bringing people together, from all walks of life. He was very thoughtful, visiting the sheltered and the elderly. When my husband passed away, he was the first to come and mow my lawn. His prayers were genuine, humble, and thoughtful. HIs kindness to everyone was legendary in the community and yet his humility would balk at the attention and it was clear that he would far rather give than receive. 

Even beyond all these lovely attributes, Elmer had no plan to change my life, but he did. It was hardly on his radar that he had such a big effect on my life (although I told him that he did). His actions set me on a whole new path.

Elmer, as an Elder of our church, encouraged our pastor to host a Spiritual Gifts course. The course helped each attendant to identify their personal gifts given by the Spirit. It was because of that course I started the HWL blog. It’s been read over 1 million times, but it wouldn’t exist without Elmer’s influence and encouragement.

The course revealed that my spiritual gifts focused on knowledge, wisdom, and discernment. I was so Biblically illiterate that I didn’t even realise that knowledge was a Spiritual gift at all! 

I had always leaned towards high academia and I told many people that one of my favourite words was “research”. Learning and researching was in my blood. It fueled my passion. I loved spending hours in the library, pouring over old texts, and reading about ancient people and communities.

I became an historian, a medievalist in fact. I earned my Bachelor of Arts at University of Waterloo in Medieval Studies and followed with a Master of Arts in Early Medieval Studies (500-1000) at University of York (UK). I loved history and archaeology, old manuscripts, and ancient art.

I also became very interested in genealogy, tracing my family lineage back as far as I could go. I not only learned about the people in my family tree but also about the history of the places they lived. I wanted an immersive understanding of history: local politics, religious institutions, fashion, royal histories, dramatic (and not so dramatic) events… anything tied to the past.

History was everything to me, but I was also a Christian. I loved God and Yeshua and attending church; and I was mildly fascinated with the Bible, being drawn especially to the Old Testament (Yeshua’s Bible). However, I still had a pretty basic understanding of the Scriptures… and the concept of a Biblical meta-narrative was foreign to me. How the writings fit together from a historical and cultural understanding was not on my radar.

After taking the Spiritual Gifts course, which Elmer encouraged us to take, my eyes were opened to an entirely new path for my life. How had I been fascinated with history all those years but never looked at the Bible as an historical text? How had I not seen that God had given me years of history education in order to use it for His purposes?

I realised, for the first time, that I had a job to do for the Kingdom! I could bring to light what the Hebrew Bible teaches us from an historical and cultural perspective. Reading the Bible in this light brought more depth to the story and a keener understanding of what the text was trying to communicate.

But, as all good historians know, if  you’re going to dive into a particular era of history you must learn the original languages in order to read the literature. I needed to learn Biblical Hebrew. And so I did.

Without Elmer’s drive to bring this course to our church community, HWL (Hebrew Word Lessons) might not exist. However, it should also be acknowledged that it was YHWH’s spirit that prompted Elmer and it was YHWH’s spirit that prompted me. It was YHWH who brought a senior PEI farmer and a middle aged academic, born in Ontario, together. I am on a new path because YHWH put Elmer and I in the same space at the right time. 

God can use you in the same way. If you live your life as the best image bearer of God you can be, you will be astounded at how many people are influenced or changed by your presence in their lives. 

YHWH is like a conductor of a beautiful orchestra. Each instrument works in different ways. The melody shifts and moves. Some instruments play the same notes, others bring harmony, and some jump into the song in surprising ways, but if they all follow the conductor the music is ethereal and perfectly tuned. God weaves humans together in a similar way. People can be the instruments of God’s divine grace, giving each other hope, support, and encouragement. How beautifully would life be if everyone followed YHWH as the Great Conductor?

I will miss Elmer so much, but he is celebrating in the presence of Yeshua and I am happy for him. It is we who are left behind who grieve. Join me in praying for Annie Lee, Elmer’s wife, his family and friends, as we mourn the loss of a dear father, brother, friend. I also recognize that many of you lovely readers are experiencing your own losses, and I pray that you will find God’s peace and comfort in your days of mourning. 

2 Timothy 4:6b-8

 [Paul:] …the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing.

One day others will grieve at our own passing. We all have an expiration date. Are you ready to go at a moments notice? The future’s looking good for those of us who follow the Great Conductor.  Walk in the Way of Yeshua’s path, and when the time comes you’ll find yourself home in the presence of YHWH.

Next week: Sister