by
Rob Johnson
11/20/2004

October 4, 1954 - November 17, 2004

Larry Trammell was a man who was bigger than life, so when I was told of his death, it was hard for me to believe it. It is still hard. Nevertheless, “unless a seed falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies it will bring forth much fruit.” Larry was the most Christ-like man I ever knew. I loved him and respected him deeply, and I think he knew it. I told him and tried to show him often, but perhaps not often enough. Oh, how all of our lives have been enriched through knowing and loving him! It has been my great privilege and honor to be able to call him my friend and my brother in Christ.

The tell-tail sign of a saint is that he is as influential, inspirational, and impacting in his death as he was in His life, and perhaps, in Larry’s case, even more so, if that is possible. For over thirty years Larry has sown his life into humankind through his music, his books, his songs, and his poetry, as well as through the apostolic and prophetic spoken and sung oracles of God. He did this faithfully and effectively here at home, as well as on several other continents and in several other countries. The full impact of his life and legacy will only be fully measured by Heaven. He also sowed of his life through intimate and spiritually devoted relationships with his adored wife Alice, and his beloved children, Stacy and Cliff. We and many others have already tasted the fruit of their lives, their love, and their ministries, and I trust that we, the Church, and the world, will be blessed and enriched by them for many years to come, in the future. For the last decade of his life on earth, Larry sowed his life into a local flock of God’s sheep as a beloved pastor, mentor, and friend. Many of his flock are already making an impact both locally and internationally through living and preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God the way Larry taught it and lived it, through both word and example. I am sure that they will continue to do so, and only increase in their service to God and man.

“Man’s life is like a flower of the field, the wind passes over it and it is gone and the place thereof knows it no more. It is like a vapor of smoke, here for a brief moment, and then gone. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.” What a sweet aroma, the flower and smoke of Larry’s life has left in our nostrils.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Oh grave, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? The death of Larry Trammell is for all those who knew him and loved him, both bitter and sweet. We mourn our loss, but we rejoice in his and the Lord’s gain. “Though weeping may endure for the night, joy comes in the morning.” As it was for Paul, so it was for Larry. They both could accurately and authentically say, “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Jesus now fully owns his blood purchased possession Larry Trammell, and Larry fully owns his Redeemer, Jesus Christ. “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” I know that Larry’s spirit man, the hidden man of the heart, is in Paradise with Jesus now, but he will stand on this earth again, with his Redeemer, in an immortal, incorruptible, and glorified body, and he will rule and reign with Him and his saints in Christ’s millennial kingdom. He will also be an honored citizen in the New Jerusalem, the Holy City of God, that will come down from a new heaven and rest upon a new earth wherein dwells righteousness.

Larry’s death has brought life and a greater faith to me because I now feel closer to heaven just knowing that he is there. There is a very thin veil between the saints on earth and the saints in heaven, and if you look close enough, and if God permits revelation, you will see a great cloud of witnesses to this reality. I saw it last night at the family visitation service given in Larry’s honor. The cloud of God’s presence was with us. We will continue to worship God here on earth, in Spirit and in truth, as Larry taught and encouraged us to do. But we must always remember and never forget that he is on the other side of that thin veil worshiping right along with us and egging us on into greater depths and heights and greater expressions of adoration and love for our Lord and Savior. Larry is resting his head on our Lord’s breast, now. He is where he was meant to be, and he is doing what he was created to do. Love on Jesus, both now and forever more.

My dearest Alice, when you have to under take the difficult and emotionally trying task that you spoke about last night, of dealing with Larry’s clothes, please stop for a moment and contemplate in your heart the glistening white robe of righteousness that adorns him now, because Larry’s righteous works, realized through a relationship with the Righteous One, have followed him all the way to glory, and it is in this garment that he is now wonderfully arrayed. He is shining much brighter than any of the stars in the Georgia winter sky.

“It is better to go into the house of mourning than it is to go into the house of mirth, for this is the end of all men, and the wise shall take it to heart.” We must all allow ourselves to fully grieve our loss, and we must allow ourselves to fully rejoice in his gain. I am sure that for most of us, both these practices will take a lifetime, because he meant so very, very, much to so very, very, many. As we allow ourselves to be fed the humble meal of meat and bread by the raven of our loss and as we drink from the bitter sweet waters of the brook Cherith, our cutting place, may we reflect on the covenant relationships in our lives with God and each other through reflecting on Larry’s life. As we do so, may we be edified and strengthened by heeding his words and following his example, because he was a man devoted to covenant relationships. He was also a man after God’s own heart, and he was a true shepherd of the flock of God. May his relationship with God and others be an example for us, as to the way God wants it done!

We will all miss you so very, very, much Larry Trammell, my brother. But in the grand scheme of eternity, it won’t be long at all until we meet with you again and “enter in” to the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world. It is there that we shall, as you do now, stand face to face with our Maker and Redeemer. “They turned their faces unto him and were radiant, and their faces did not blush with shame.” “Eye has not seen, neither has ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit!”

To all who know and love Larry, for to know him is to love him, these words of comfort and encouragement I leave with you now, from the mouth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you I go away, and come again unto you. If you loved me, you would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father; for the Father is greater than I.”

Shalom (Peace)