FLOWERS THAT NEVER FADE
We recently received this note along with a generous check: “I have been wanting to honor my parents with a memorial gift in their names. After thinking of different churches and organizations, I decided that I wanted to send this memorial gift to Know Your Bible. Although my dad died early and probably never saw a KYB episode, I do know that my mother enjoyed watching your program often, especially in later years when she could not always get out. Please accept this gift in their memory with my heartfelt appreciation for your program. I’ve always appreciated your professional and kind way of presenting the Gospel to the world.”
That gift, and others like it, are a great help in keeping KYB on the air. That gift is also a great illustration of a memorial gift that accomplishes something eternal. Years ago, Brother Bill Oakley coined the term “Flowers that Never Fade” for memorial gifts to Know Your Bible. I’ll admit that a stage full of floral bouquets and sprays is impressive at a funeral. It’s an indication of people’s sorrow and a way to show their respect to the family. But, honestly, most of those beautiful displays begin to fade immediately. Most all of them are in the trash within a week. You see why Brother Bill’s phrase is so meaningful. A memorial gift given to KYB is used to send God’s Word into people’s homes. A gift of $1,000 will obviously reach into more households than a gift of $10, but every viewer in every household is potentially that “good soil” for whom we are sowing the seed. When that seed lands in good soil, eternal destinies are changed. Marriages, families, and generations are changed.
Funerals are not the only occasion for memorial gifts. Some continue to honor their loved ones regularly for years after their passing. We also receive what we call “honor” gifts given to recognize an accomplishment of someone living. One family sends a gift to KYB in honor of every baptism at Northside.
Other saints who believe in the ministry have included Know Your Bible in their own estate planning. Through the years, such gifts have been a real boost to the ministry and enabled it to carry on. Such “flowers” never fade!