Dominic Smart went home this morning (28th April 2020) just before dawn. New morning for him, valley of the shadow for us. He has gone where he longed to go and to a place which the Lord Jesus by his grace prepared him for and prepared for him.
Our sympathy and prayers are with his wife Marjorie and his children.
Dominic was “a man apart”. By that I do not mean that he stood apart or above. At a service in Gilcomston, the children gathered round Dominic – quite a crowd of them. He evidently loved them and like his Master before him, he knew each of them by name. Dominic had time for everyone.
He was a “gifted preacher”. He carefully engaged with the passage and presented it in a relevant way and effectively communicated with his audience.
He was a “noble man”. He faced death most nobly. Last May Christian Focus did an interview with him on YouTube – “Living with Cancer– Dominic Smart”. This has been a great encouragement to many thousands. It is honest, helpful, hopeful and honouring to God.
He was “a gifted writer”. His book ‘40 Days with Jesus’, led many young people, particularly in Albania, to embrace Jesus Christ. Only this month ‘Grace, Faith and Glory’ has gone to the printers. What an appropriate title for someone who through grace and faith has now entered glory.
He was “a real friend” who showed himself friendly, often with brilliant humour despite the painful challenges he had to confront. I never heard an angry word from him. Yes he was concerned. Yes he was disappointed. Yes he often wondered why. But there was always confidence in this “He knows the way that I take and when he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23.10.)
Well. Now he is “GOLD”.