1. Grandpa was tough. He had a lot of experiences that showed how tough he was. He was electrocuted in 1954 while working at the rock crusher plant, he was nearly dragged over a cliff, by a runaway truck at the same plant, and he was caught-up by his denim work shirt in the conveyor system. But, he was also gentle, evidenced by how he loved kids and how they loved him. He was always excited to hold the little ones and he would smile from ear to ear while they were with him. Compare this to our Lord Mt 19:13-14 Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 Jesus said, “Let the little children to come me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
2. Grandpa was merciful to me when I deserved punishment. Once, about thirty or so years ago, I had my BB gun and took aim at Grandpa’s rain gauge. I didn’t figure I had a chance at hitting it, since I was a fair distance from it and I had only one pump. However, I did hit it and broke it. Nobody saw me do it, so I put the gun away and after awhile we loaded things up and waved goodbye to Grandma & Grandpa until our next trip down from the city. After a couple of months we came back down and I had almost forgotten about the rain gauge incident. But, Grandpa hadn’t. He got the grandkids together in the dining room and brought out the busted gauge and simply asked who was responsible. I quickly owned up to it, not knowing what Grandpa’s reaction would be. As I recall, he told us about responsibility and he told me that he was disappointed with me. But, he didn’t yell. He simply made the point that when I make a bad decision I should address it immediately and not run away from it. Grandpa was like the Lord in showing mercy to me. The lesson of mercy extends beyond that Saturday Afternoon of thirty years ago. Mt. 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy.”
3. Grandpa did not often tell us how much he loved us, but we knew he loved us by what he did to show his love. Once he and Grandma took a summer vacation with my family. It was Mom, Dad, Jeff & myself in our car and Grandma & Grandpa in their old blue International Harvester pickup. We were somewhere West of Dalhart, TX and had been on the road the better part of the day, when Dad saw a lone Elm tree with a picnic table on the horizon. Dad quickly took the decision to stop and have a picnic there on the high plains of the Texas panhandle. Both vehicles rolled to a stop and Dad, Jeff and I unloaded from the Buick and ran back to Grandpa’s truck just as the wind shifted. Dad had stopped us next to the biggest pig yard in west Texas. The smell almost overwhelmed Grandpa, who was still behind the wheel of the International Harvester. He never criticized Dad or offered any opinions about Dad’s choice of picnic areas. He simply said, “James, I’m not that hungry. Let’s keep driving.” Grandpa showed his love to us. Compared to our Lord 1Jn 4:9-10 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

   For those of us who don’t yet believe in the LORD and for those of us who do believe, we should consider these words from Jesus in Matthew 19:25-26 & 20:1-16
   25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 26Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

   Jesus then told this parable about those who follow him.
   1 “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of an estate who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.
   3 “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. 4 So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. 5 At noon and again around three o’clock he did the same thing. 6 At five o’clock that evening he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’
   7 “They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’
   “The owner of the estate told them, ‘Then go on out and join the others in my vineyard.’
   8 “That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. 9 When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. 10 When those hired earlier came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. 11 When they received their pay, they protested, 12 ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’
   13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? 14 Take it and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. 15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be angry because I am kind?’
   16 “And so it is, that many who are first now will be last then; and those who are last now will be first then.”
   Some come early in the day, some come in the middle of the day, and some come at the very end of the day, but all receive the very generous reward from their Master.

   Grandpa did indeed confess Jesus about six months ago, while talking with Dad.

   Mt. 12:1-13 God Almighty follows the Spirit of the law not the letter of the law. He is a Lord of mercy. Mt. 12:7 “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”

   To conclude this memorial to Homer Martin, we can know that
   1) He was tough & yet gentle like Jesus
   2) He was just, yet merciful like Jesus
   3) He showed his love by his actions, like Jesus.
   4) And finally he confessed his faith that Jesus is Lord.

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