THANKING LUTHER RATMEYER  

 

Today I'm thinking about the angel who told the shepherds that a Savior was born in Bethlehem, and the late Rev. Luther Ratmeyer. The angel told the shepherds, who were never invited to much of anything, to go to Bethlehem and see for themselves. They were invited to join Mary and Joseph and the stood around the feeding trough that baby Jesus was sleeping in. I was not invited to join them, of course, but I was invited to know Jesus... by an angel named Luther.

 

It was in the late summer of 1976 and I was sitting on my cot on the 6th floor of the Eppley Treatment center. We were encouraged to spend time reflecting each day and maybe I was doing that. I don't recall, but when I looked across the room, Luther Ratmeyer was standing in my doorway. I didn't know him. I didn't invite him, and I certainly was not looking for a church. I was simply in the room when he asked to come in... to do what he felt he had to do... and what he would continue to do to the day he died... which was to tell lost and desperate people that Jesus loves them. He came to tell me that and also to invite me to trust in Jesus. He told me that Jesus had already forgiven me of the sins that haunted me as I sit there... and that Jesus would lead me into a life with purpose and joy, into a life that built people up instead of tearing them down, into a place where I would live in the moment and leave the rest to God. Lu told me that Jesus wanted me to experience the fullness of life and that I would... if I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

 

I was in a very vulnerable state and besides I was completely empty on the inside... so I asked Lu to lead me in the Sinner's Prayer, which he did, and when we finished, I experienced joy and hope for the first time in a long time. Me... me... who had totally lost my way, who had hardly ever been in a church, and who had never prayed any sort of prayer... me... who had committed sins just to cover over other sins... had been SAVED! Glory to God- my friends won't believe it- I've been saved!

 

Lu moved to Grand Rapids later on, to pastor a large church with a big staff... and I was happy for him. But when I last talked to Lu, he had moved on again... to a smaller church, where he could go out and tell people about Jesus! Lu wasn't geared to manage a big staff or to "run" an organization, but he was great at telling people that Jesus saves. That was his special gift and that's what he did to the end. I loved this man! I'm saved because he told me about Jesus and I'm a pastor because Lu was a pastor.

 

When Sherry and I were struggling with my "calling" to be a pastor, I came up with a compromise. I could be an "executive pastor" in a large church or maybe a Counseling Pastor somewhere. But when I told Lu about my plan, he told me to either be a pastor who leads people to Jesus, teaches the Bible, and preaches the Good News with conviction... or do something else for a living! So Sherry and I sold our home and moved into student housing.

 

Luther Ratmeyer was the "real deal." He was a "man of God," to use a phrase Lu liked to use, and I never thanked him enough for introducing me to Jesus. In my view, there are many angels and some of them have names... like Gabriel, Micheal, and Luther. Amen!