Mark Darling – Story 105

Thank you for being such a great example to our church! I appreciate and admire so many things about you, but there are three things that especially stand out to me the most.

1. Your passion for the Lord which spills out into all aspects of your life. The last two years have been the best of my life I think, mostly because the Lord has given me an incredible passion and love for him and desire to know and pursue him. I can’t get enough of the Bible and understanding all that it encompasses. There are times when I am so full of joy from growing in the Lord that I start to worry that it will someday fade away, or become boring, or that I’ll become complacent. But then I look at your life and your passion and your zeal for the Lord and I know that my life in 30 or 40 years can be just as bright, exciting, full of passion and fresh amazement at God as yours is! I look forward to the growing passion and desire to know God that I know you have after so many years of following God, and how it results in a life that is filled with joy, love for others, obedience, and a passion for lost people to know Christ.

2. Your enthusiasm for being a doer of the Word. You are truly a great example of what it looks like to put the Word into action, in many aspects of life. I am constantly challenged and encouraged from the examples you share of your own life of how you discipline your body, discipline your mind, reach out to others, are kind to everyone, forgive easily, do good deeds, are always vigilant, are bold and courageous, and strive for obedience. It is encouraging knowing that the same Holy Spirit who is working in you and through you is also in me and that I have the ability and power to live a life like that too. This last year I have really come to understand the power and reason behind why we are to live godly lives and do good deeds — in order to make following Christ appealing to others. You certainly do a wonderful job of that!

3. Last be definitely not least, your extreme encouragement and ability to see the best in people. The one thing I will always remember and cherish about first moving to Minneapolis after having left an immensely sinful and hypocritical lifestyle, is how warmly you welcomed me to the Rock, how you saw and highlighted the positive things that you saw in my life rather than ever even mention or highlight any of my sins or failures. I always knew undoubtedly that you sincerely loved and believed in me, or rather believed in God’s ability to grow me into a mature disciple of Jesus. I so appreciated at that time knowing that I had your full support and positive outlook on my life. I appreciated you checking in on me, asking how I was doing, or if there was anything you could help with. I know you have this caring and positive attitude and approach with many, many people, and it is a characteristic that I strive to emulate.

Thank you, Mark, for all that you do for this church. I admire your life, faith, and obedience very much and I am so thankful to have ended up here! You have had an extremely positive impact on my life over the last couple of years and I am truly grateful.

Shared by SZ