He was a coon hunter and fisherman---a "man's man." But more importantly he was a Christian and just the sort of influence I needed in my first years of preaching in Victoria, Texas.

He was one of the best Bible students I ever knew and yet his "library" consisted of only three books: a KJV of the Bible, Lard's Commentary on Romans and a Webster's dictionary.

For many years he was an active part of a large religious denomination, being responsible for making numerous converts. But a Christian co-worker introduced him to undenominational Christianity and he objectively considered that he might be wrong. He began to read the Roman letter and did so with such regularity and love for Truth that he not only committed it to memory, he learned it. He soon was baptized and began to teach his religious friends and relatives, telling them what he'd found and converting many of them.

He kept studying with an open mind. As the years past he saw that some churches of Christ---among them the one he was a part of---were doing things that lacked Divine authority. With meekness, yet firm resolve, he left those brethren when efforts to change them failed and yet his manner of disagreeing with and departing from them was such that he kept their respect for the rest of his life.

He was a gentleman and a gentle man. He could tell a person they were going to hell and do so in such a way that they would thank him for his concern and honesty. I heard him do it. In the five years I knew him I never heard him say an unkind word to or about anyone. He didn't talk about people or listen to idle talk regarding them.

He was compassionate and caring. On a coon hunt one night he found a poverty-stricken family with several children and for many years spent much of his own money to help ease their suffering. But his major concern was their souls and eventually several in the family were baptized.

A widower, he married a widowed aunt of mine and I did the ceremony. Just over a year later they both remarked to some other Christians that they never wanted to live without one another or alone again. The next day they were both killed in a car wreck. Since his death in 1973, many Christians have had an impact on my life but few like A.R. Hand.

A few years ago, while scouring through a used book store in Victoria, I found his old copy of Lard's commentary which had been carelessly discarded by someone. It now occupies a special place in my library, as does his memory in my heart.

Brethren, don't cast aside noble examples of great men and women, as someone did this old book. Whether you knew them or not, study and learn from the lives of such people and heed Paul's admonition: "...take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you." Phil. 3:17.