I praise God for His greatness displayed through a friend whose short life impacted the world for good. Last night I attended a memorial service and today the funeral service celebrating the life of Dr. Myles Munroe. We were not in constant communication but we knew each other from our teenage years and did ministry together as part of "Youth with the Truth," a non-denominational group that did street meetings in Nassau. I introduced Myles to ORU and we stayed in touch off and on over the years. My family in Nassau were part of BFM in its beginning stages. My mother was a member and Myles did her funeral service. I spoke at women's meetings a few times for his church.
As I attended services in his memory yesterday and today, I was amazed to realize that it is apparent that nobody in any arena of life was celebrated in his death as much as Myles. His books, translated into over 50 languages have sold millions of copies and have changed lives in a positive way all over the world. He has met with kings and queens and heads of state all over the world. He advised government leaders and participated in training leaders internationally. There have been great men and women in all arenas of life - political (including heads of state), religious, entertainment or otherwise, who have had outstanding memorial services but this little preacher from a small island with a population of less than a million was honoured more than anyone I know. He had a national memorial in the city's stadium and a state recognized funeral in his church. His services were attended by the Prime Minister and governor among other dignitaries of the Bahamas as well as dignitaries representing governments in Africa. Among those present to give tribute were great men of God such as Morris Cerullo, Creflo Dollar and the president of ORU. Some (religious and political) sent video tributes. CeCe Winans was a featured singer and a personal note from President Obama was included in his program. There are memorial services being held for him in South Africa and in Florida. The service today was over 6 hours long and so I cannot tell everything. It is likely that a street will be named after him and a class at the local university. There have been many heads of governments and famous celebrities who have had elaborate services but it was all in one place at one time. This man was celebrated as a dignitary in Nassau as well as in services in other parts of the world. There is a memorial scheduled for him in Florida next week where they are expecting over 4000. I praise God that he let a little preacher who came from humble beginnings on a little island measuring 7 by 21 miles get more recognition than all the secular persons I know of throughout history. God always has been the greater One and this is an example. The devil gave fame to many but God will always outdo the devil. Satan has given the impression that you have to sell out to him for fame and fortune but God proved that the devil is a liar through Myles. You do not have to compromise your faith and stand for Christ to make an indelible mark on the world. The name of Myles Munroe will never be forgotten and for good reasons. Everyone is not going to be chosen to be famous and world renown like Myles but what happens to one of us in the Body of Christ is shared by all of us because we are one family. Each of us who are part of God's family can be proud of what our Father did through Brother Myles. We can say, "That was my brother!" More importantly, we can make sure we are doing what we can, as Myles taught, to fulfil our God-given purpose on earth while we are here. Each of us can live in such a way that we make the Church of Jesus proud to refer to us as brother or sister. It does not matter if a million people know us or just a handful, as long as those who know us can say we made a positive difference doing what God called us to do in this life.