In honor of my father, Dave Silvia

One of my earliest memories of my father's love for Christ was seeing him on his knees—praying, praising, & crying out from the heart. Not a rare moment, but a consistent expression of devotion.

Photo by Jacob Bentzinger

There are countless stories I could share about my dad, but as I write this, my heart is drawn to honor his life by reflecting on something even more precious—his faith.

One of my earliest memories of my father's love for Christ was seeing him on his knees—praying, praising, and crying out from the heart. This wasn't a rare moment, but a consistent expression of devotion I witnessed throughout my childhood. His expression was at times tearful, other times joyful, and often with profound reverence. It was this love for Jesus that gave him hope in difficult times, and peace when the world could offer no comfort.

As I look back in this moment of remembrance, there is nothing more powerful for a young boy than witnessing the man you look up to, in all his strength, compassion, and wisdom, in humble surrender offering everything he is and everything he could be on his knees to Jesus Christ. This action profoundly changed me and became a guiding post for my life. For those who are looking to honor Dave Silvia, my dad, I can say with confidence, the best and only way to truly honor his life, is to encounter Christ for yourself, seek first the Kingdom of God and use his life and actions as inspiration to pursue Jesus Christ with utter abandonment of self and fully purposed in Him.

I am sure there are questions about suffering and why someone who loves God should suffer like he did. It is a question he and I had often discussed over the last several years. Between his first diagnosis and the cancer resurfacing we would talk weekly on the phone, anywhere from one to three hours. The topic was always centered on our Christian faith. I will share some of our discussions with you in the hope that you will not use what he suffered as a reason to run from God, but find in it a reason to run toward Him.

First, the reality: if we remove God from Dad’s life story, he still would have faced cancer. But without Christ, there would have been no peace, no enduring hope amid suffering. His pain would have led to despair, not redemption, a suffering that ends in death, followed by eternal separation from God—a hopelessness Dad never had to face. A more accurate reality is that Jesus called him out of a dark lifestyle in his youth, and without Christ, Dad believed he would have died long ago.

Suffering does not have to be without purpose. When Jesus died for us, He gave us a path to follow. A place to attach our suffering with His, nailed to a cross. In these very moments, we can be united with Jesus in a most intimate way. Where we can physically experience a realization of what He went through for our sake. In our suffering, His struggle becomes mysteriously and intimately woven with our own. While on the outside we witness our loved ones in pain and suffering, in the realm of the spirit they are never alone or forsaken but closer to Jesus than ever before. The healing power of the Divine Surgeon gently rebuilds the pieces we have broken throughout our lives and begins dressing us in wedding garments, in preparation for the eternal wedding feast. We struggle and resist this moment by our nature, even though it is our purpose, until we breathe our last and embrace Christ face to face. It is our final battle from life to death and death to life. Yet we remain in hope, knowing that the battle is already won.

When Jesus died, he experienced death in a way that you and I never will. Life has overcome death. Because of Jesus Christ, to die is to encounter Christ. It is the miracle that is waiting for each of us. There is a burial shroud over all mankind, a division between God and humanity. The miracle of Christ’s death is this: the burial shroud that once separated us from God becomes the tablecloth of the eternal feast, His body becomes the altar, the rich food and drink is His flesh and Blood. Mourning is turned to dancing, sorrow to joy, beauty for ashes, and the funeral becomes the Feast.

Dad now sits at this table, feasting with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Even in his passing from this life, I cannot help but proclaim Glory be to God! Thanks to the example of my mother and Father, I was able to encounter Christ, I was given a choice, and I said Yes. Be it done to me according to Your will! Let Jesus live in me. I will honor my father by living the faith he shared with me. I, too, will have a place at the Heavenly Feast, and I will sit with my Dad once again, and we will worship on our knees together before the God of all creation.

If I could sum up Dad’s example in a quote: “Preach at all times and when necessary, use words.” Dad did proclaim the gospel in words, but his message was alive because of how he lived his life, centered in Jesus Christ.