Today is my Dad's birthday. I want to take the time to celebrate him on my blog. I do this not just for my sake, but for my boys. You have a good heritage in your grandfather.My last conversations with my dad prior to his unexpected death, were challenging for me and our family. But after his death he came to my in my dreams, (you don't have to believe this if you don't want to, I know it was real) and told me everything was OK. That was a gift from God to me.
I miss my dad and love him. Here is what I wrote......
Dave Tomko
How do you begin to describe a man who has done so many things over the course of his life? People say that we are defined by who we are and not by what we do. Yet much of my Dad’s life is defined by activity. My dad was always active. He didn’t sit still. Movement to him meant progress.
My dad was a starter. He was a visionary person. In many ways he was a pioneer. He saw things that could be done, and worked at making them happen. He never hesitated to act. When the scripture was clear that he should respond in a certain way, he was willing to be called a renegade and rebel to accomplish God’s will. My Dad defined sitting still as sin. Whether it was a church building, a business activity, insight on how the church should live or an orphanage, it didn’t matter. It was full steam ahead; join him or stay out of the way.
Yet, that is not all that Dave Tomko was. He was generous. Giving was the single most important thing to him. His time, money, energy, and home were at your disposal. When he saw a need it was nothing for him to offer money, his home, his appliances, what ever it would take. For him to live with less so that others could live with a little more was fine. I seldom remember times when we didn’t have someone living in our home. We all made room so that Dad could express his generosity. I know if he could - and some times he couldn’t and did it anyway - he would have given the shirt off of his back to anyone who was in need. Many individuals and couples were blessed by his generosity.
Who else was Dave Tomko? My dad had a passion to serve God. There was nothing he would not do to serve and follow Christ. Could you put “saint” next to his name for everything he did? I am not sure. Yet he never flinched in his devotion to follow Christ. Everything he acted on was done out of a desire to obey and please his Father in heaven. To him the pearl in the field was worth having. He was willing to sell everything he had to get it. The spiritual heritage that he passed on to us will be hard to measure. He prayed daily that all his children would have the same passionate desire. I believe God will answer his prayer. Where would many of us be without his input and direction? The example of following Christ will leave a permanent imprint on all of us.
Who else was Dave Tomko? My dad was a salesman. He could sell ice cubes to Eskimos. But his greatest passion was offering those who didn’t know Christ an opportunity to follow Him. My dad loved to see those who didn’t know Christ come in to a relationship with him. He was an evangelist. To him the Good News was everything. He would befriend anyone with the knowledge that some day he would be able to see them become Christ followers. Many of us benefited by his passion. Maybe you rode on the school bus he drove. Maybe you met him while serving him coffee or breakfast. Maybe you rode the train in Japan or met him around a business lunch. Maybe you met him while working with him or while he was pastoring a church. To win men and women to Christ you have to be a salesman. In my dad’s case he was offering something that would affect others for eternity. His passion to see individuals become Christ followers caused him to do anything to accomplish that end. He was relentless, he didn't give up, and it did not matter how other’s perceived him. He was willing to look foolish. Where ever my Dad went people came to Christ. If you are a salesman offering the greatest gift, what else could you do?
But that is not the complete story. Sometimes the image of Christ was blurred by the image of who my Dad was. That image would get mixed up, we didn’t know at times when Christ ended and my Dad began. For some this was difficult to understand and/or accept. We would begin to question Christianity in the light of how it might have been practiced. I wonder if it was hard for my Dad too. Following Christ was so much at the center and periphery of who he was that the practical got lost. But that happens at times to visionaries. They are so far out there, that they forget that dotting the “I’s” and crossing the “T’s” are just as important as getting there. Many times my Dad forgot to dot the “I” and cross the “T” and when he forgot, he would hurt people or leave them hanging. Even those close to him. For my part I forgive him. The spiritual heritage of following Christ and serving him with a passionate devotion far out weighs some “I’s” and “T’s” that might not have been dealt with. Many others have experienced the “I’s” and “T’s” not being addressed when you worked with my Dad. Hopefully you will be able reconcile them before the Lord, that my dad served, and you serve.
Human beings are complex individuals. My dad was no different. His love for God, his desire to see those who didn’t know Christ follow him were important. My dad only did big things. He didn’t serve a small God. When He did things he did them in a big way. If it was following Christ he did it in a big way, when He failed, he did it in a big way. If he was going to have fun, there was only one way to do it, in a big way. I suppose if you wanted to define him at all, nothing my Dad did was done in a small way. The word small was not in his vocabulary.
But I wonder, if he was here now, what he would say to all of us. Wouldn’t he say, Follow Christ! Wouldn’t he say, Give yourself completely to knowing him and then act on what you know; Wouldn’t he say, you serve a big God, who only does big things don’t sell him or yourself short.
For myself, I love my Dad. I expect to see him again. I am grateful for the spiritual heritage he has passed on to me. I am not all of the things my dad was. But I know this; the same passionate devotion to follow Christ is at work in me just as it was at work in him. And if laying up treasure in heaven is real, my dad is enjoying some of that treasure today.
Written October 12, 2003
My dad was a starter. He was a visionary person. In many ways he was a pioneer. He saw things that could be done, and worked at making them happen. He never hesitated to act. When the scripture was clear that he should respond in a certain way, he was willing to be called a renegade and rebel to accomplish God’s will. My Dad defined sitting still as sin. Whether it was a church building, a business activity, insight on how the church should live or an orphanage, it didn’t matter. It was full steam ahead; join him or stay out of the way.
Yet, that is not all that Dave Tomko was. He was generous. Giving was the single most important thing to him. His time, money, energy, and home were at your disposal. When he saw a need it was nothing for him to offer money, his home, his appliances, what ever it would take. For him to live with less so that others could live with a little more was fine. I seldom remember times when we didn’t have someone living in our home. We all made room so that Dad could express his generosity. I know if he could - and some times he couldn’t and did it anyway - he would have given the shirt off of his back to anyone who was in need. Many individuals and couples were blessed by his generosity.
Who else was Dave Tomko? My dad had a passion to serve God. There was nothing he would not do to serve and follow Christ. Could you put “saint” next to his name for everything he did? I am not sure. Yet he never flinched in his devotion to follow Christ. Everything he acted on was done out of a desire to obey and please his Father in heaven. To him the pearl in the field was worth having. He was willing to sell everything he had to get it. The spiritual heritage that he passed on to us will be hard to measure. He prayed daily that all his children would have the same passionate desire. I believe God will answer his prayer. Where would many of us be without his input and direction? The example of following Christ will leave a permanent imprint on all of us.
Who else was Dave Tomko? My dad was a salesman. He could sell ice cubes to Eskimos. But his greatest passion was offering those who didn’t know Christ an opportunity to follow Him. My dad loved to see those who didn’t know Christ come in to a relationship with him. He was an evangelist. To him the Good News was everything. He would befriend anyone with the knowledge that some day he would be able to see them become Christ followers. Many of us benefited by his passion. Maybe you rode on the school bus he drove. Maybe you met him while serving him coffee or breakfast. Maybe you rode the train in Japan or met him around a business lunch. Maybe you met him while working with him or while he was pastoring a church. To win men and women to Christ you have to be a salesman. In my dad’s case he was offering something that would affect others for eternity. His passion to see individuals become Christ followers caused him to do anything to accomplish that end. He was relentless, he didn't give up, and it did not matter how other’s perceived him. He was willing to look foolish. Where ever my Dad went people came to Christ. If you are a salesman offering the greatest gift, what else could you do?
But that is not the complete story. Sometimes the image of Christ was blurred by the image of who my Dad was. That image would get mixed up, we didn’t know at times when Christ ended and my Dad began. For some this was difficult to understand and/or accept. We would begin to question Christianity in the light of how it might have been practiced. I wonder if it was hard for my Dad too. Following Christ was so much at the center and periphery of who he was that the practical got lost. But that happens at times to visionaries. They are so far out there, that they forget that dotting the “I’s” and crossing the “T’s” are just as important as getting there. Many times my Dad forgot to dot the “I” and cross the “T” and when he forgot, he would hurt people or leave them hanging. Even those close to him. For my part I forgive him. The spiritual heritage of following Christ and serving him with a passionate devotion far out weighs some “I’s” and “T’s” that might not have been dealt with. Many others have experienced the “I’s” and “T’s” not being addressed when you worked with my Dad. Hopefully you will be able reconcile them before the Lord, that my dad served, and you serve.
Human beings are complex individuals. My dad was no different. His love for God, his desire to see those who didn’t know Christ follow him were important. My dad only did big things. He didn’t serve a small God. When He did things he did them in a big way. If it was following Christ he did it in a big way, when He failed, he did it in a big way. If he was going to have fun, there was only one way to do it, in a big way. I suppose if you wanted to define him at all, nothing my Dad did was done in a small way. The word small was not in his vocabulary.
But I wonder, if he was here now, what he would say to all of us. Wouldn’t he say, Follow Christ! Wouldn’t he say, Give yourself completely to knowing him and then act on what you know; Wouldn’t he say, you serve a big God, who only does big things don’t sell him or yourself short.
For myself, I love my Dad. I expect to see him again. I am grateful for the spiritual heritage he has passed on to me. I am not all of the things my dad was. But I know this; the same passionate devotion to follow Christ is at work in me just as it was at work in him. And if laying up treasure in heaven is real, my dad is enjoying some of that treasure today.
Written October 12, 2003
I loved reading this, just as I did when you first wrote it over five years ago. Having only met Grandpa Tomko once, I appreciate the insight into who he was and the things in which he believed.
ReplyDeleteThis was an amazing Eulogy to a man I never came fully to understand or know. I know regret my past in not knowing him enough. I thank God, however, for bestowing in you the same passion he had, and in turn, bestowing that passion in me.
ReplyDelete