Tribute to Bill Altaffer

A good and humble man is no longer with us. Bill Altaffer passed away today after a long bout with cancer. No longer suffering, Bill now is in the presence of the God he loved, and is thanking his Lord Jesus for taking the penalty for his sin.

Bill was a different sort of guy. I guess I am sort of attracted to that type of person for some reason. He and I just seemed to know each other well, and got along from the first. He was the kind of man who made friends easily, and just as easily shared his faith. Here is one example of that.

I recall one trip he and I made to Oklahoma. We weren't in a hurry to get there, and it was a good thing we weren't as we had to stop at every rest area on the interstate so he could drop off some homemade gospel tracts in the men's restroom and wherever else he could leave them. Those tracts asked anyone who responded to contact him. I don't know if he ever got a response, but he wasn't afraid to put his name out there for the cause of Christ.

Bill loved the Psalms and was a sort of local expert on the poetry that makes up that book of the Old Testament. He expecially liked Psalm 119...the one that talks over and over about learning, loving, and meditating on the Word of God.

He wasn't afraid to go door-to-door, "cold calling," trying to find someone who would hear the Good News.  He expected results from the presentation of the Gospel. He never talked about “If” we would get a response...but “when.” The community where he and I met...and became friends...Oakley, Kansas...was a difficult place to share the gospel. He and I talked a lot about that difficulty, and what could be done to break through, so to speak. Although he never had the apparent success in converting many while in that community, he left a lasting mark on many, and demonstrated to many what true humility and service were like.

Rest now, my friend. There are no more doors you need to knock. No more tracts you need to hand out. No more sermons or lessons to prepare. You'll not need to wonder any longer what some passage in the Psalms means. The glass that you have been seeing through darkly is now removed and you are seeing face to face. You'll never need to present the Gospel ever again to a lost and dying world. Your work is done.