Karl Robert Thompson - 1/13/19

1.13.19

We gather this afternoon because someone you all knew and who touched your life died much sooner than expected. Karl Robert Thompson was a man with a huge personality and a whole bunch of friends.

We come in our grief looking for strength and comfort and we do that by turning to God. It was Jesus who said,

Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. (John 14)

He also said,

“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. (John 11:25)

The Apostle Paul wrote,

35Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?. . . 37No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39)

So, from just these few verses we are reminded of a few things: God is here, He loves us, and He has got everything under control. This is our anchor. This is where our hope lies.

So, will you please pray with me,

Father, we confess Your ways sometimes confuse us. We don't understand the timing of life. Some people languish in Nursing homes praying to die. Others die in the prime of their lives. We face one of those confusing times today.

In the midst of our confusion draw us close to You. In the emptiness help us to find strength in each other. And in this time of being stunned thinking about Karl's death, help us to remember to give thanks and celebrate his life. We ask in Jesus name. Amen.

Karl Robert Thompson was born on October 16, 1969 in Burlington IA. He was a graduate of Dallas City High School Class of 1988. In 1990 he graduated from Southeastern Community College having pursued classes in architecture. He had two children by his first wife Sherri: Shelby and Dugan. He had four children with Julianna: Dalton, Daniel, Isabella and Kinley. They all survive.

He is also survived by his mother, Joyce Thompson, a brother, Kevin (Teresa) Thompson, five sisters: Rhonda (and the late Steve) Foley, Melanie (Rick) Evans, Leana (Karl) Yard, Andrea Thompson, and Marie (Robert) Berry. He is also survived by a host of other relatives and friends.

I am now going to ask one of Karl's daughters, Isabella, to come and share a letter she wrote to her dad.

SONG

I met Karl Thompson a few times. I officiated at his wedding to Juliana. However, I did not really know him. As I listened to family members share last week, I got the distinct impression I may be the only person here who was never "mooned" by him.

Karl was a great athlete. He defied the notion that white men can't jump. He was a star in basketball and in baseball. In later years he loved to encourage his kids (that was everyone on the team) in their athletic pursuits. From what I understand he had a way about him that allowed him to coax the best out of the kids without discouraging them. Even when they would lose big, he would always say something to make them feel better and determined to work harder.

Karl Robert was a hard worker himself. He was taught to work hard and to give a good days' work for a fair days' wage. What you may not know is Karl almost didn't make it to school. When he was just a little boy he had some Tonka trucks. He was so little he could actually sit in the back of the truck. His sisters decided (I believe it was Melanie and Rhonda) it would be a good idea to put Karl in the truck and then push him down the long, steep, and bumpy hill at home. Not only did they do this ONCE, they did it many times! Maybe that is why Karl didn 't seem to be afraid of anything.

When Karl was in school, he was known for being the guy who saw value in students that others rejected or picked on. He had a heart for the lonely. When the school jock treats you as a real human being; a person of value; it changes your entire perspective and possibly your entire future. Karl was also known for being the class clown. He was up for any dare. He would dress in a cheerleader outfit, get all dressed up in drag, or just about anything else you would dare him to do.

Karl was hot-blooded. You would see him in shorts and a t-shirt throughout the year. I don't know where else to put this: He was a hairy man. Once the girls convinced him to get tattoos of all the kids on his back. To do this his back needed to be shaved. He let his family try to remove the hair on his back so he could get the tattoos. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. First, they tried removing the hair with duct tape. When that didn't work, they applied Gorilla glue and then covered it with duck tape! His back was pretty sore for a while. He chose a different spot for his tattoo.

I admit to being just a little confused by some of the things I heard from his family. Isabella told me what a smart man her dad was. He could build anything. But then I heard about the time he put in sliding glass doors at the house using his power tools in the rain! I also learned that Karl thought he was pretty competent with fire. However, it also sounded like the Fire Department was very much aware of how to quickly get to Karl's property because they were there regularly.

I'm told he sometimes practiced red-neck mechanics. His idea of first aid was a paper towel held on by Electrical tape! In fact, he loved electrical tape and duck tape.

Seriously, Karl was an extremely talented guy. He made a computer desk for his mom. He was a great artist. He knew Calligraphy and even did some Latchhook. He liked to make artwork in the sand on the beach and when people would come over to admire his work, he happily told them about all the competitions he had won and all the places he had competed. (all lies).

He was a great cook. He loved to make anything on the grill or smoker. His specialty may have been his deer jerkey. He was always having some kind of a cookout (barbecues, fish fry) to give him an excuse to invite friends and neighbors over for a meal.

Karl loved to sing Karaoke at the Yellow Rose. His favorite song was "The Keeper of the Stars" a tender love song. However, he could also be coaxed to sing "It's raining Men" or "I'm too Sexy for my shirt." He loved being with people and he seemed to be so secure in himself that he could relax and just have fun. He was also a pretty good impressionist.

Once when he was at SCC he and some friends took his S-10 pickup and made a quick trip to Jacks. To save time he just parked in a handicapped spot. When the guys started to leave, they saw a police officer writing a ticket for the truck. Karl immediately went into an impression (before the days of political correctness) of a mentally challenged person. He had quite the conversation with the officer. Two of the friends had to remain in Jacks because they could not keep a straight face. The officer did not give him the ticket. He either felt sorry for Karl or figured anyone who would work that hard to get out of a ticket should win a free pass.

And even though he was always the life of the party, he also was quite comfortable sitting at home with the family. He would let the kids paint his fingers and toenails or do whatever else they wanted to do to him. If the family was watching a movie, Karl would sit behind Julianna and comb her hair through the entire movie. Most of all, he loved hugging the kids. He enjoyed making them pancakes and taking them on four-wheeler (or lawn mower) rides. Karl loved being a Father.

He also enjoyed being a brother. He was too kind to let his sister know that she used salt instead of sugar in her chocolate pie. He would always choke down her mistakes in the kitchen. Although, this was the same brother who walked Marie down the aisle (in one of the few times he wore long pants and a long sleeve shirt) and when he got to the front and said to Robert, "You can have her!"

No one was offended, because Karl was just having fun. If he was giving you are hard time it was because he liked you. If he called you a friend, he considered you family; if you were family he would do anything for you. Claude said he was a fantastic son-in-law.

It sounds to me like this was a good and decent man. He prepared to be kind and giving even when he died. He was an organ donor, and many will be helped in years to come because of his kindness. Karl was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. He had his vices and issues like all of us do. However, Karl was a man who lived life well. It may seem like Karl was "cheated" out of life, but it seems like Karl lived his life to make sure he was going to get the most out of every second that he lived. So, in some ways, he lived much more than many who live well into their 80's. We mourn for his family, we mourn for ourselves, but don’t need to mourn for Karl because he lived a full life and touched many people during the course of that life. His impact, his fingerprints, will be seen and felt for many years to come.

[Song]

I don't know much about Karl's spiritual life. He went to church as a child, but as an adult was not a big fan of the religious aspects of faith. He said he connected with God in quiet moments. He prayed for his kids during quiet times at work. I am content to let God evaluate the genuineness of his faith.

There was a time when people asked Jesus why a certain man was born blind. They wanted to know if it was because of the man's sin, or the sin of his parents. In other words, they assumed bad things happened to people as punishment. Jesus corrected them. He said, the man was born blind so the power of God could be shown. He then healed the man's blindness.

In other places the Bible explains that bad things happen, not because God is abusing us, but because we live in a broken world. It's broken because we refuse to listen to God. As a result, the world is a mess. It is a broken world that leads to a man dying at 49 years old with several young children still at home.

As we stand here today, we are reminded of several things. First, we are all broken. Did you know the only people Jesus didn't particularly care for were the people who felt they were better than everyone else? He was constantly taking on these religious jerks and trying to get them to see their own need for forgiveness. Maybe this is the same reason Karl didn't like "religion." He saw the brokenness in others they refused to see in themselves. He was turned off by their inconsistency.

It seems to me, Karl understood that everyone is broken. We all have issues. We all have known failure in life. That certainly holds true for me. Perhaps this is why Karl reached out to those others had cast aside. He realized they were not any different than he was.

Jesus came to earth not to bring good people to Heaven, He came to earth to help broken people find healing, forgiveness, and new life. He came to let people know God sees us, He loves us, and He wants us to be part of His family. I hope and I pray Karl understood this.

Second, we are reminded today that there are no guarantees in life. We all tend to live as if we will have 70-80-90 years of life. We plan to get serious with God sometime in the future. We forget how fragile and tentative life really is. A blockage can lead to a stroke or heart attack, a sleepy driver can lead to a devastating car accident, a bite from a tick can lead to a sickness that leaves us struggling to hold on to life.

We are reminded to live our days to the fullest; to cherish our family and friends while there is time; to not waste time brooding over the past, but instead to keep pressing on to learn and grow for the future. And it reminds us that we may stand before the Lord of life much sooner than we think.

And that leads me to the third lesson: it matters what happens after we die. There are people who say, "I don't care about Heaven, all my friends will be in Hell anyhow." It is a foolish thing to say. I believe and have seen in my own life the wisdom of the Bible. And when the Bible speaks about the future, the Bible says Hell will be a place where the gifts of God will be absent. Gifts such as friendship, positive memories, companionship, laughter, joy, taste, beauty, and even light will all be gone. There will be no parties or reunions in Hell.

There are others who have given up on any notion of Heaven because they believe they are too bad. They too are wrong. Jesus promised that whoever would come to Him would be granted eternal life. When Jesus said, "Forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing" He wasn't talking only to the people standing around the cross. He was talking about you and talking about me.

From time to time people will say to me, "I hope I have been good enough to earn Heaven." I tell them all the same thing: "You haven't been!" And then I add, "And neither have I." God grants us life beyond the grave not based on our performance, but on the performance of Jesus in our place. If we will follow and trust Jesus, if we will believe He died for us, He will forgive us of every single sin!

But God does not force us. We can choose to accept this incredible gift, or we can reject it. And once we die, our choice is locked in.

To be honest, I would think this whole thing was just wishful thinking if it wasn't for the historical fact that Jesus came back from the dead! I have looked at the evidence. There have been times when I thought "Come on, this is too good to be true!" But then I go back and examine the evidence some more. And, I don't know about you, but I can't think of anyone more trustworthy than the man who tells me about eternal life after He has come back from being dead for three days! Having trusted Christ, myself, I have seen what He can do in a life.

Of course, only God know what was in Karl's heart. I know he heard the message. He also seemed open to the message. More than that, I don't know.

We can stand around and mourn what happened. We can be mad at God. We can try to numb ourselves until we no longer feel pain, or we can learn from this experience.

We can recognize that everyone is broken

We can follow Karl's example and treat others with kindness rather than hatred or indifference.

We can lighten up and enjoy life and the people we meet in life just a little bit more.

We can accept our own brokenness and stop taking ourselves so seriously.

We can celebrate the many uses of duck tape and electrical tape.

We can savor the quiet moments with those we love the most.

We can focus on the beauty of life rather than its ugliness.

We can talk about people less and invite them over for dinner more

And we can run to and embrace the forgiveness and new life offered to us by God through Christ and just ignore those people who think they are too good to hang around us. We can use this life to prepare for the next life rather than letting it catch us unprepared.

And finally, we can choose to focus on the way Karl lived, and not on the way he died.

Will you pray with me?

Father, thank you for the life of Karl Robert Thompson. He made us smile, laugh, and had a way of making us feel valued. We ask you to welcome Him into your presence by your grace and mercy. We pray for his family. Provide for them. As you do, help their memories to remain alive in their hearts.

We ask You to help us to learn from this experience and to live our lives faithfully before you. Help us to find that life that never dies; the one that is found only in You. We ask all this in the name of Jesus, our Savior.

Amen.

-Bruce Goettsche