By Shawn Smith
DUCK DYNASTY’s patriarch Phil Robertson passed away last month, but his legacy of faith carries on with his kids and grandchildren.
“For me… just growing up, hearing him talk about the gospel, being in church, seeing his like work outside was…so impactful,” Phil’s grandson, John Luke, said on his younger sister’s Sadie Robertson Huff’s podcast.
He recounted one of the last times he spent with grandfather — the family revealed he had Alzheimer’s December last year — when he and a group from church visited him at the hospital and sang “Victory In Jesus.”
“At this point, [he] couldn’t really speak, but he was aware of what was going on. So we were all singing…you could tell he kind of understood,” he recalled.
John Luke remembered how Phil’s faith even until the end of his life strengthened his own.
“He knows wholeheartedly, like he’s coming to the end, and he’s going to be in heaven soon, and being able to go in with that amount of confidence…In that moment, I was like, ‘Man, this is…real, yeah, I get it,’” John Luke said. “I see the faith…I see how God has worked in his life.”
“I see his faith in that…where things like we would from our perspective, things are going wrong, he’s like, ‘No, this is all part of the plan,’ he added.
Reed Robertson, son of Jase and Missy Robertson, spoke of how Phil was “ferocious” about preaching the gospel.
“He never had a conversation with anyone that he wasn’t trying to work the gospel in or just straight up telling it to them,” the singer said.
He says the faith that was passed down through the generations starting with Phil strengthens him as he gets older, leads a Bible study and raises his own family.
“[T]here is absolutely nothing that can waver me from, from what I’m doing. The thought of, ‘Okay, I’ve seen this done for literally generations,’” the father of two said. “I know how to do this, you know. And I just think that’s so valuable.”
While the “Duck Commander” might have been “ferocious” about sharing the gospel, it was done in love, Cole Robertson said.
Related: DUCK DYNASTY Patriarch Phil Robertson Dies
“[W]ith Phil…he’s known to yell in a lesson, you know, from time to time, but whenever you’re sitting with him talking about Jesus, it’s always with love,” Cole said on the podcast.
“The amount of famous people that came down to his house, and he treated them the same as the homeless people that showed up just to hear from him…that’s something that has definitely impacted me,” Cole added.
While the 27-year-old admitted that he has struggled with doubts in his faith, he looks to the Robertson family patriarch for boldness of faith.
“[W]hen I look at Phil…and his entire life, from the time he was converted to the time he went to be in heaven, he never wavered and always had such a strong confidence in his faith and who he was before God,” he said.
In an Instagram post, Huff honored her late Papaw by writing, “I can’t stop thinking about how he lived in the middle of nowhere, in a small, humble home with no cell phone or computer, and yet his life touched millions with the hope of Jesus…What a life of authenticity. What a legend.”
In another tribute, Phil’s son Willie shared one of his father’s last words.
“The last words he said to me as I leaned down over his weakened body was ‘You’re my brother.’ It made total sense to me. He always told me we were coworkers in the Kingdom of God. Maybe that’s why I always just called him Phil,” he wrote.
“Phil, I love you and already miss you. Thank you for raising me the right way and teaching me the most important lesson to prepare me for the day you passed on,” he continued.
Phil’s legacy will echo into eternity through his family and all the lives he touched.
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