EULOGIZING DALLAS WILLARD

It may seem odd that I am writing a eulogy about a man I never had the pleasure of meeting. Perhaps if I explain why I am writing a eulogy it may make a little more sense.

Shortly after college graduation I was at a place in life that could easily have been described as confused or directionless. Not just with regard to life, but also with regard to God. He made little sense to me and the Church made even less. One afternoon, I explained all of this to a friend of mine – who happened to be a pastor. After telling him of my confusion,  he stood up, walked over to a bookshelf in the room, grabbed a book, handed it to me and said, “You need to read this.”

With that, he turned his chair around, faced his desk and stopped talking to me. Apparently he wanted me to read the book right then and there. So I did. Two hours later, still reading, I had learned more about the heart of Jesus than I did in all the years of my life up to that point.

The book? The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard.

Within the next few days I finished reading it, and had a profound sense that my life would forever be different. Willard’s book saved my faith, reoriented my life and sent me in an entirely new direction. For the first time I had heard good news that was actually good.

Up to that point, what most people called the gospel seemed more like a veiled threat. But that day in my friend's office, my understanding of God, Jesus, the good news and what it meant to be a Christian was radically reoriented. Through Willard’s words I was introduced, for the first time, to the idea of  what we can and should do with our lives. This gospel was not a threat – it was an invitation – and I accepted.

I learned that I could have a new, vibrant life right here – or as Willard called it, “The eternal kind of life now.” For the first time, being a Christian made sense. Since that time I have read The Divine Conspiracy more than five times (each time with a different colored highlighter). I have also read Renovation of the Heart, The Spirit of the Disciplines and The Great Omission.

Every word in his books, every idea presented and the heart with which he wrote has shaped me and proven to further my journey that has led me to the place I am today. It’s safe to say that our world is poorer because of Willard’s passing. However, we can also say, with full confidence, that our world is richer because of his having passed through it.

And so, I eulogize Dallas Willard, a man that I never met because his words and his life helped to shape this one.