A LIFE WELL LIVED
Ephesians 5:1-2
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
A friend of ours died this week. His name was Phil and he was only 45 years old. This sudden tragic loss for his family and friends was a total shock for everyone.
Sergeant Phil served 22 years as a police officer and was well-known and liked in his community. He had a reputation for caring for others and for speaking out for what he believed in.
“Phil was a great man. He was the kind of person everybody liked or at least respected. He was never unkind, although he was very bold to speak out for the truth and for what was right.�
–Melissa, sister-in-law
“He was a man of firm convictions and he will be missed,” said police Chief Chuck Harmon, a frequent target of Quandt’s criticisms. “We didn’t always agree on things . . . But I knew he was always trying to help others.”
–St. Petersburg Times, August 28, 2007
“It was more important for him to speak the truth than to move up in the chain of command,” said Sgt. Karl Lounge, the secretary of the local union chapter.
–St. Petersburg Times, August 28, 2007
“He was a devoted and loving husband and father.�
–Friend of the family
What made Phil Quandt such a great man? It was his vital, living, loving relationship with Jesus Christ. His faith wasn’t just something he read about in a book, or heard when he was a student. His walk with Christ made a difference every day in the choices he made, the things he did, the words he said and how he said them. It affected the way he lived and in what others saw in this man.
More than 1,000 people came to pay their respects to Phil and to offer condolences to his family. His loss will be intensely felt in his community and in his church, but nowhere as much as in his home by his wife and two young sons. I thank God for a man like Phil Quandt. He loved His God, He lived life well, and he left his mark—one that uplifts the name of Christ. To God be the glory!
Precious Lord, thank You for the courage and the commitment of Phil’s life. Bless his family and heal their hurts. Be their sufficiency and provide for their every need I pray.
By Ann Shorb
Copyright 2007
