Harold Herbert Bird was laid to rest Tuesday the 6^th of September at Mt Gravatt cemetery Brisbane.

He was a man I have only known since commencing the pastorship at Annerley. Many of you have known him for much longer. I for one always appreciated the effort he made to get to a church service, and of late I have appreciated how family has gathered around dear Hazel.

In collating photographs for the funeral I was shown the one of him being baptized at Annerley Church of Christ in March 2007.

What an honor it would have been for Kent Dock and Barry Tattersall to have officiated at this believer’s baptism, a man 93 years of age, a returned service man who had put his life on the line for you and me, for all Australians, for democracy and freedom, who was there in Borneo when the Japanese surrendered (with photos to prove it) and here he was submitting himself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, following Him through the waters of baptism.

What a reminder this is, that the claims of Christ are for all people of all ages whether they served their country or lived for themselves, whether they were hard working like Harold and got ahead in life or had lost their way in life.

Harold at one month shy of his 98th birthday had achieved much but nothing he had done could ever gain him access to God’s forgiveness and living eternally with Christ

It’s what Jesus Christ had done which brought him into a relationship of healing and forgiveness

We are never too young and we are never too old

We can never do enough to be born again

We have never ever done too much wrong to be forgiven

Come on Home the Father of Jesus awaits

Blessings

Bruce Docker