The days of probation upon God’s land drew to a close for my father, brother and friend. He now lay asleep in Christ and I had opportunity to think about his life.
The late Abdool Hack knew that he had no settled existence here and was aware he was a pilgrim and traveler with God. We would do well to retain the spirit of sojourners like the patriarchs, rather than regarding our lives as a settled existence. If we are not journeying in spirit, then we have lost our view of the onward, upward call of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The days of Abdool Hack are over; his life had been carefully planned by his divine maker each part being fashioned for a special work. Yes, he knew the end and he knew the way; we hope he will be blessed with eternal life and we all wish to be with him in that day as we make the answer now.
My father was born on 22nd October, 1920 in a sugar estates area on the western coast of the Berbice River here in Guyana. He lived with his parents until they died before he joined hands in holy matrimony with my late mother, Sis. Tagh Hack, who also recently passed away (5th July, 1995).
He honored and obeyed the vows of the marriage bond as set out in the precepts of God Almighty. We can all take a leaf out of my father’s book of living standards. Since he accepted the marriage vows on 26th April, 1943, he held on to them until, as he vowed, “death do us part.” Father and mother lived together for 52 years in a truly blessed relationship for any man to achieve.
Bro. Abdool Hack was richly blessed by the Lord God in his married life and was the father of eight children, grandfather of 28 and great-grandfather of eight. “Blessed is everyone who feareth the LORD: that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD” (Psa. 128:1-4). Yes, he saw his children’s children.
Having been raised in a Muslim home and with a very strong Islamic background, my father sought in all sincerity for the true and living God. His prayers were answered 18 years ago when he found the Lord Jesus Christ and he remained steadfast even unto the end.
He served as the most faithful and regular steward here in his home ecclesia, truly “a workman that need not be ashamed.” How well he discharged his duties was admired by all. Week by week he was prompt to move the emblems around, to keep the door, to greet the unknown visitor and to so faithfully attend the needs of the Lord’s house that the words of Paul can be echoed of our dear brother: sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience and a pattern of good things to those who are now left behind.
It is possible to spend a lifetime getting nowhere: a lifetime starting from mother’s womb and ending in mother earth: a lifetime with no sense of purpose merely filling in the time between birth and death. This is the course of many. The few, like the patriarchs of old, journey with their God to a city that has foundation.
As he was dying, Bro. Abdool Hack did not look for special treatment; he knew he was not indispensable to God’s purpose. But he was very important to some of us. Father, grandfather and great grandfather, he was the beacon before us and now we are as the wide open shores, alone in the dark and it is so cold and sad for us. The feelings of pain and loss are so big, too big. The sand has slipped away from under our feet and we are trying, somehow, to sit in this empty space that has been left behind. We have no choice, for we have lost a noble man. You are gone but not forgotten.
Love you so much.
Your son,
Azad
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One