Thursday 10 September 2009

B & D Challenge (In memory of Barry Marshall)


Indulge me for a second...
...one of the reasons why I will continue to feel the 'after-shock' of Barry's death for years to come, is because of how much he inspired me.

When he was studying at PMB varsity and we were in the young adults group at Metro Methodist together, he challenged me in my understanding of Scripture and my relationship with Jesus. Barry and I started a 'game' (remember Barry's competitive nature) - we called it the B & D challenge! How it worked was that every time we saw each other on campus, we would get a turn to give each other a challenging Scripture verse. We only gave a hint as to where it came from or part of the verse and if the other person got it right, they got a point and so on. If we didn't know it then we had to go and read it up in the Bible.

Part of my love for the Scriptures grew out of this silly game - I was always trying to catch Barry out (and he was trying to do the same). In a pre-Google and pre-Biblegateway age, looking up passages on a daily basis was a good discipline. We found some really interesting verses!

Barry, we miss you dude. We miss your laugh, your crazy ideas, your deep faith, your passion for Jesus, your love for the broken, your music gift. We just simply miss you.

Oh and Barry, here is my last B & D challenge for you... what does Revelation 21:4 say? May you find this to be true.

Peace to you, my friend. Strength to Elaine and the rest of the family.

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

P.S. - I came across this new song by Steve Curtis Chapman today. Apparently he wrote it after the tragic death of his daughter. Cry away.
http://bit.ly/2Xl7C

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