LEAVING A LEGACY THAT LASTS - PART 2

SECOND PRINCIPLE: Love Like Crazy

As Paul approached the end of his life, he wanted to be close to the people he loved… Pretty interesting, when you think about how tough and "hard-nosed" this guy was when we first meet him in the New Testament.

But time and GRACE had taken this once tough, hard-nosed, hard-pushing, "can-do," entrepreneurial type and softened him; making him a man who deeply and dearly loved people.

He loved the churches he was privileged to launch and lead. He loved the people he rubbed shoulders with in ministry.

One of my favorite statements from the lips of Paul is Philippians 1:6-7. Where Paul writes to perhaps his "favorite" church and says, "...I am confident that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about you, seeing that I have you in my heart."

Wow! Imagine Vin Diesel looking at a group of people and saying, "I believe in you guys. I know you're going to make it. It's right for me to feel this way about you, because I have you in my heart."

That's Paul! Grace had transformed him into a man who "loved like crazy."


That pretty much describes my Dad. Here are a few more snapshots from his life.

If you knew my Dad, you know he loved people…

He loved his wife… Connie Sharon Fuller Goins. Dad and Mom met at a Birthday Party for Mom’s Uncle Harry. Because Shirley (Dad's sister) had married into “the family,” Shirley was there with my Dad.

Mom said, “He was wearing one of those skimpy bathing suits…”

He also happened to be drinking a beer, which totally turned mom off.

Mom didn’t see him again for some time. The next time she saw Dad he had already experienced his “encounter with the law,” and decided to start going to church with his sister, Shirley.

Shirley introduced Dad and Mom. She said, “Connie, he plays the guitar and you play the piano, you all ought to enjoy one another.”

They did! Dad and mom were married on April 15, 1964.

My mother was the love of Dad's life. As a kid I saw it on display day in day out. Hugs and kisses were common in the Goins' household, often eliciting an, "Ugh!" from me and my brothers.

Just days before Dad's passing he had lost clarity in his thoughts. But one night around bedtime Mom stood by his side, stroking his head, telling him good night. She reached over to kiss him goodnight, like they've probably done every night for the last forty four years, and all of a sudden...clarity. Dad's lips puckered and reached up to meet my Mom's.

Yep! These two loved each other like crazy.

Dad also loved his boys… There are four of us: me, Kelly, Stephen and Kasey. The memories I have from my childhood are like the ones you read in a storybook. There was never a doubt about the way my Dad loved the four of us.

I remember "TV nights." After a long day of work, Dad was on the couch and we boys piled on top of him while mom cooked a kettle of popcorn on the kitchen stove. My favorite? Watching the television premiere of Rocky with my Dad.

I remember wrestling matches, motorcycle rides, church trips and work. I worked with my Dad from the time I was eight years old. Those were some of the best days of my life. Hanging out with Dad. Riding around town. Changing a compressor. Laughing. Sharing.

One of the greatest blessings I carry with me today is the fact that I grew up knowing I was loved.

Dad loved his family… He was born into a large family. Try this on for size: eleven brothers and sisters. Wow!

And we're not talking rich or financially "well off" people. We're talking "salt of the earth," work hard and "make a living" kind of people. But to rub shoulders with any of these brothers and sisters, you would think they grew up rich. And maybe they did, just not in the way the world measures wealth. They grew up knowing they were loved.

Dad was crazy about his Dad and Mom. Pappaw Goins was one of the heroes of his life. He was crazy about his brothers and sisters, his nieces and nephews and the extended members of the Goins clan.

Dad loved his church… Watts Bar, the words of Paul the Apostle to the church at Philippi in Philippians 1:6-7 accurately express the way my Dad felt about the church he planted and led for 25 years.

“…being confident of this that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about you because I have you in my heart.”

Finally, Dad just loved people. If I love people at all today, it's because one of the most important principles my Dad taught me is that people matter. They matter to God and they ought to matter to us.

So, if you want to leave a legacy that lasts, love like crazy.