Gerald Busenitz

We are here to remember and to honor the life of Gerald Busenitz. But, far more than that, we are here to remember and to honor the God Who gave Gerald his life, Who redeemed his life from sin, and Who has now perfectly restored his life to him in his eternal home.

Gerald Kent Busenitz was born September 24, 1948, to John and Freida Busenitz in Newton. He was the sixth of eight children and had the great privilege of being twins with Harold; the two were all but inseparable. Growing up on the farm, Gerald would be taught the value of working hard and the value of working together. He would also be taught the truths of God; worshipping together as a family at home and together with their church family. And he decided early on to personally trust in Jesus to save him from his sins.

Gerald and Harold were not just playmates, they would also prove to be partners in crime at school; swapping names on substitute teachers or sneaking out of class. But the fact of the matter was that school was very hard for Gerald. Now, one wonders if this difficulty was perhaps exacerbated by his antics, but we suppose we’ll never know! Gerald’s parents sent him to Berean Academy for high school. And it was still difficult. But God used the teachers at Berean to make the Bible come alive to Gerald and to see in it the practical wisdom for all of life.

After high school, Gerald began his long and illustrious college career at Grace Bible Institute, in Omaha, Nebraska. But, after one semester, he realized all he wanted was to work on the farm. But this was easier said than done. First, there were questions of whether the farm could sustain anyone beyond his parents. Second, considering how hard school had been for him, he had serious doubts about whether he could make it as a self-employed farmer. But, as He often does, God uses moments of our weakness to pull us to Himself. He shows us His strength through our weakness. And God used Gerald’s understanding of his own weaknesses to drive him to His Word. Gerald knew that if he were to make it as a farmer, he would need God’s blessing. So, he studied especially the Proverbs, looking for God’s principles to guide his farming. He collected 31 principles from Proverbs, such as: Pay your bills on time, don’t co-sign for a neighbor, live on less than what you make, don’t lie to get a good deal, and don’t labor to be rich. And he worked to base his business—and his life—off God’s principles.

It wasn’t too much longer before Gerald took notice of Margie sitting across the balcony at church. For a year, they spent time getting to know each other through church and youth group parties. But after only three months of officially dating, they realized that all they wanted was to get married. Margie’s dad told them they needed to wait until at least March to get married. So, March second, 1974, it would have to be! Gerald would quickly tell you that, after choosing to follow Christ, marrying Margie was the best decision of his life. They soon recognized that having a good marriage was not just about either of them being happy. Rather, a good marriage comes from serving their Lord and Savior together and by obeying His commands. Only then would God bless their marriage. And God did bless them. He blessed them with four children: Joel, Jeffrey, Denise, and Ted. He blessed them with the love and grace to raise us children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. He blessed them with 22 grandchildren, whom he loved to tickle, wrestle with, and talk farming with: using every opportunity to point them to His Savior. God also blessed them with faith to not only endure hardships, but to grow through them. And even over the last year of living with cancer, with all its difficult and painful realities, it was clear that God was still working to sanctify them individually, and together, just as He had done throughout their 52-year marriage.

We want to talk about a few other ways we could see God’s sanctifying work in our dad.

The first is the way he (and our mom, too) prioritized spending quiet time with God each day. A memory etched into my brain is me, as a kid, coming downstairs in the morning and seeing dad at his desk reading his Bible or kneeling in prayer. We knew that he began every day in communion with God. How kind of God to put this desire in his heart to grow Dad’s love and devotion. And to use his example to model for us, as his children, the importance of daily devotions. This was a powerful tool God used in conforming Dad little by little, each day, into the image of Christ.

A second avenue of God’s gracious work in my dad was through farming. God continually used farming to be a fertilizer of his faith. In his prayers he would ask for rain to water a struggling crop yet in the very next breath express his trust that God would send just the right amount at the just the right time. He would gladly tell us how God had brought each piece of farmland to him. Sometimes this was through years, even decades, of prayer, other times though a circuitous path of unexpected blessing. But God was always using some aspect of farming to bring Dad to prayer for guidance, for wisdom, or in thanksgiving.

A third tool God used to sanctify Dad is church involvement and home Bible studies. God used church in Dad’s life to grow him through service. He taught Sunday School for decades. And this never came easily for him. Many hours would go into studying in preparation to teach, and he often said that, in this process, God would teach him more than he could ever pass on to his class. He also enjoyed different home Bible studies throughout the years. Whether it was the neighborhood men’s Bible study that met in the winter months or meeting with different men one-on-one, he relished getting to sit around the kitchen table and talk about God’s Word. There is so much blessing in living in community with other followers of God. And God used that fellowship in Dad’s life to spur him (and others) on to greater love and good deeds.

Was Dad perfect? No! But throughout his life God was patiently, graciously working to perfect him and to conform him to the image of Christ. And now, through the blood of Christ, he HAS been made perfect. Dressed only in Christ’s righteousness, Dad is, at this very moment, standing finally faultless, before the throne of God.

I don’t know what ground you are standing on to get you to heaven. But Jesus’ blood—Jesus’ righteousness—is the only solid rock; all other ground is sinking sand.

Dad leaves behind many people who love him: Margie, his loving and faithful wife; Joel, Melissa, Anika, Suzannah, Nathaniel, Louisa, Moriah, Lydia, Cyrus, and Havilah; Jeffrey, Ivy, Cosette, Samira, Jaya, and Saul; Denise, Jeff, Micah, Devin, Ryley, Addison, and Aubrey; Ted, Leslie, Lucy, Callie, Claire, and Sophie; along with his siblings: Allen, Glenn, Elva, Elwyn, his twin Harold, and Lowell. And we will all miss him. But we do not mourn as those who have no hope. For, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, as Dad does, then, through Jesus, we will be reunited with him to worship our heavenly Father together for all eternity.

Again, we are here to remember and honor Gerald Busenitz. But, without God’s gracious work in him, there would be absolutely nothing worth honoring, nothing we’d want to remember. So, ultimately, we are here to praise God and to thank God for doing His work in my Gerald, just as He graciously offers to do in all of us.

Memorial contributions may be made to Berean Academy in care of Broadway Colonial Funeral Home.