No doubt, the written world will be filled with tributes to Tony Snow. Most will come from people who knew Tony personally as a friend or colleague, and of course, they will be most qualified to write of the man. I am willing to wager, there are many others like me who never had an opportunity to meet him, but who credit Tony with preserving and indeed, restoring a measure of hope in this country.
In a journalistic sea of cynical-left-wing faces, it was not difficult at all to recognize the Holy Spirit in Tony Snow. On television, no matter how contentious and vile the combatants had been, the air was cleansed by the mere appearance of this man on the screen, like some kind of emotional air freshener.
Perhaps what I saw in Tony Snow was simply genuine agape love, masterfully incorporated into his personality. It is a love of fellow man, demonstrated by God through Jesus Christ, and it is far more than words professing an ideal.
In the words of Jesus… (John 15: 12-13):
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
At a time when I was ready to switch off and tune out the news media at all levels, I happened across the face and voice of Tony Snow. He gave me pause and in the course of doing his job, he redeemed “the press” in my eyes.
I hope and pray that the vilest gathering of humanity, the ultra-liberal White House Press Corps, was given pause by the example of Tony Snow. Can you imagine the effect for the sake of Goodness, if the Press Corps hounded Administrations from the perspective of God’s love for mankind, rather than as shouting minions adept at delivering Lucifer’s deceitful business?
Rest in peace Tony Snow and thanks for all you have done!