It was an unseasonalbly warm, winter morning, January 11, 2013, when Rick Stilwell stepped into the presence of Jesus Christ with seemingly no prolonged illness, pain or suffering; just mercy, love and grace. His life wrapped in flesh was immediately transformed into his forever life wrapped in glory. His unique life-book, only 44 chapters (years), concluded peacefully and with a well-written glorious ending.
Since then I've read many posts on Facebook which have memorialized Rick and his life on this earth. He seemed to have captured everyone's attention with his niceness, his love for social media, his pleasant and fun personality, his obsession with coffee, as well as, his endearing love for his wife, children, family, and friends.
Although Rick was an all-around great guy, there was this stress-less-ness he carried that was very captivating. And that smile...just being around him made you want to relax.
Calm, cool, collected; that was Rick. But that's not all!
The hashtag, gone viral, attached to his legacy is #LIVELIKERICK. But what does that really mean? To some it means to just enjoy life. To some it means to keep improving social media so we can more easily connect with people. For others, a cup of Joe is raised to remember him and his love for coffee, but for me...
#LIVELIKERICK means #LIVELIKECHRIST.
Rick understood that Jesus was the Master at relationship building and Rick lived out that mastery. Rick also believed in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of his life. The most important relationship in his life was the one he had with Christ. This relationship spilled over into every other relationship.
Jesus Christ was his reason for living. Christ was why he could love his wife, Vicki, and his children, Trace and Cammi, in a godly fashion and be the spiritual leader of his home. Christ was the reason his close friends adored him and why he served on a church staff as a pastor for a period of time.
Christ. The hope of glory. Rick lived life to the fullest because Hope was the centerpiece of his faith and love. He sought to live a life full of Jesus and the indescribable joy that a Christ-centered life brings. Without this Hope, Rick would have just been another great guy who loved life. Hope made the difference. It's what he lived for! Therefore, #LIVELIKERICK means to #LIVELIKECHRIST.
Hope in Christ; the core of who Rick was.
"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1 20-21 NIV
So as we remember and celebrate Rick's life tonight, I'll be remembering the hash-tag #LIVELIKERICK because he sought to #LIVELIKECHRIST.
My Pleasure,
Melanie
Since then I've read many posts on Facebook which have memorialized Rick and his life on this earth. He seemed to have captured everyone's attention with his niceness, his love for social media, his pleasant and fun personality, his obsession with coffee, as well as, his endearing love for his wife, children, family, and friends.
Although Rick was an all-around great guy, there was this stress-less-ness he carried that was very captivating. And that smile...just being around him made you want to relax.
Calm, cool, collected; that was Rick. But that's not all!
The hashtag, gone viral, attached to his legacy is #LIVELIKERICK. But what does that really mean? To some it means to just enjoy life. To some it means to keep improving social media so we can more easily connect with people. For others, a cup of Joe is raised to remember him and his love for coffee, but for me...
#LIVELIKERICK means #LIVELIKECHRIST.
Rick understood that Jesus was the Master at relationship building and Rick lived out that mastery. Rick also believed in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of his life. The most important relationship in his life was the one he had with Christ. This relationship spilled over into every other relationship.
Jesus Christ was his reason for living. Christ was why he could love his wife, Vicki, and his children, Trace and Cammi, in a godly fashion and be the spiritual leader of his home. Christ was the reason his close friends adored him and why he served on a church staff as a pastor for a period of time.
Christ. The hope of glory. Rick lived life to the fullest because Hope was the centerpiece of his faith and love. He sought to live a life full of Jesus and the indescribable joy that a Christ-centered life brings. Without this Hope, Rick would have just been another great guy who loved life. Hope made the difference. It's what he lived for! Therefore, #LIVELIKERICK means to #LIVELIKECHRIST.
Hope in Christ; the core of who Rick was.
"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1 20-21 NIV
So as we remember and celebrate Rick's life tonight, I'll be remembering the hash-tag #LIVELIKERICK because he sought to #LIVELIKECHRIST.
My Pleasure,
Melanie
I wrote a tribute to Rick, as well, and linked to your blog. It was so well written. Thank you for posting it.
ReplyDeleteYou can read my post here: http://www.missionmusings.com/2013/01/livelikerick.html
Thank you so much for linking. Rick was a very special person in our lives and he will be missed tremendously. I enjoyed reading your blog as well. Great job!
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