My Friend Ben II

As I stated earlier, Ben loved the Lord with a passion that I can only talk about because I honestly haven't experienced it like he did. His devotion to God was all consuming, honest and resulted in a life full of compassion and mercy towards others. You could tell as you talked to him that he was genuinely concerned about you, if you were his closest friend or just a waitress at Waffle House. His walk with God became a desire for others to walk with God and enjoy God the way he did.

But, when I first met Ben his relationship with God was similar to Saul's and not Paul's (an obscure reference to a bible character that you can discover in the book of Acts, chapter 9). Ben loved the Lord but he viewed God's world as one where you kept a list of do's and don't's, and the better you avoided the don't's the more the Lord was pleased with you. And Ben kept those self-imposed rules as well as anyone I've ever seen. He was extremely disciplined about his devotion times and his avoidance of anything that hinted of evil. The problem was that he expected everyone to live up to his standards of right and wrong and was disappointed when they didn't. I can remember his telling me one evening that he knew of no one else that loved the Lord as much as he did, a rather arrogant statement to say the least. But, to be honest, I agreed with him. He was so very disciplined that he had me fooled too.

Fortunately, a friend of the family was able to sit down and explain grace to him. And once Ben understood the truth of grace, that God accepts us because of what He's done rather than what we've done, his life was totally transformed.

Being a Hammond means that you're either hot or cold about something and never just lukewarm. The Hammonds have no concept of doing something half-hearted. When they believe in something its like they have blinders on and can't see to the left or right. This was the way that Ben grabbed grace. He embraced God's truth and shared it with all he knew. He enjoyed life like he never had before and was a joy to be with. He still had his faults, as do we all, but they were overshadowed by the joy that now controlled him and his actions. I guess that's why I enjoyed being around him so much. I wanted some of that joy to rub off on me.

Now, the amazing thing about grace is that it frees you up in ways you would never have imagined before. Ben could now enjoyed taking a drink occasionally. He was less judgemental of others and other's actions. He laughed more and was a constant trickster and jokester. In short, he was fun to be with. You knew he still loved his God just as much and was still disciplined in his spiritual walk, but the rules no longer controlled him, it was love. I'm sure it's a hard concept for some of you to understand unless you've experienced grace, but it's the most freeing experience in the world. God loves us. He accepts us on account of what Jesus did, not on account of what we do or not do. He wants us to experience life in it's fullest, which means joy unbridled; hope without fail; and peace to the point where it just can't be explained. He lets us know when we've disobeyed Him, but doesn't ride us like a demented school master. He desires life for us, real life like the kind Adam and Eve experienced before they disobeyed. He wants to walk and talk with us, hand in hand, heart to heart like true lovers. That was the relationship Ben discovered when he turn away from the law and embraced God's grace.

If you'd like to know more about grace please read the book of Galations in the new testament. It explains it well.

Ben was able to walk in grace for a number of years and one thing grace did was help him overcome his feelings of not measuring up. Being the youngest of 6 kids meant Ben was always trying to measure up to his siblings. He never felt like his family accepted his accomplishments, so he was always working harder and trying to prove himself. He was a great musician but he never felt like his family appreciated it and so it left him with a pain in his heart that he never should have carried. Families, unfortunately aren't always the best people to give you positive feedback or for encouraging you in your pursuits. It's not that they don't care or that they aren't amazed at your abilities, it's just that they are trying to measure up too. I know personally that his family was amazed at his talents and abilities, but Ben couldn't see it, not because of his family, but because of his own heart.

When Ben found grace, he found that God accepted him and was proud of him. And Ben was so grateful that he became even more creative. He was freed up to sing for the Lord and not for others and did so with his usual passion and energy. He accepted a position as the worship leader at a church, built a killer band and led others in worship of his God. To say he was loved and appreciated at that church would be a great understatement. A testament to that love was the attendance at his funeral. The place was packed. In his usual manner he had somehow shared his love of God with others and they showed how much they would miss him by seeing him off on his last journey.