A Life Well Lived

Last week I attended the memorial service of my cousin, Wesley Duewel who passed away at the age of 99. When he was five playing in his sandbox, he heard God call him to be a missionary in India. He was faithful to that call and for the past 75 years, he gave his life to the cause of Christ and world missions.

Although he is well known because of the 2.5 million of his 10 books that are now in 58 languages, those who met him recognized that helived by the words he used to sign his letters: "All for Jesus."

Rev. Mark Wilson writing about the passing of Wesley Duewel, told that seven years ago his congregation was transformed as they went through Dr. Duewel's book Ablaze for God. They invited him, then age 92, to Hayward so he could share his heart and pray with them. To their delight, he accepted the invitation. Rev. Wilson wrote:

"Obtaining special permission, I eagerly awaited Dr. Duewel's arrival at Gate A-19 of Minneapolis International Airport. His plane landed, and a long line of passengers debarked-but no Wesley Duewel.

"The last stragglers came out of the tunnel, but there was still no sign of my special guest. I checked with the agent who radioed back into the plane, and grunted, 'He's coming. He's coming.'

"Finally, three flight attendants emerged from the jet bridge, and they were all wiping away tears. One approached me, 'Are you the one waiting for that precious little old man back there?' she blubbered. 'He was just praying for us! It was so beautiful! I have never felt such love in all my life!'

"I marveled. This holy man was so filled with God's presence and anointing that it automatically overflowed to everybody he met along the way."

"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord ... "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them!" (Revelation 14:13).