I got the news that Red Davis died this week in his hometown of Marshall, Texas. I cried when I heard it, though I only met him a couple of times.
“Who is Red Davis?” I can hear you saying.
Well, I'll tell you.
Red Davis was nobody special in this world, or he was a great saint. I guess it all depends on how you look at things, but I'll tell you something true and wonderful. "Nobody special” and “great saint” go together a lot more often than some people think.
Twenty-five years ago Red Davis was the CEO of a big company in East Texas between Longview and Marshall. This company provides so many jobs for local people that it is somewhat famous in those parts.
Some would say the crowning achievement of Red's life was attaining a high position in such an important company. I wouldn't know anything about that. I don't know much about the company, and I don't know anything about how Red managed to become CEO.
I only know what Red did after he retired. And I know about that because my dad was the pastor of his church.
Red retired in the late 70s, before my dad became the pastor of First Baptist Church of Marshall, Texas. After he got his gold watch and had his retirement party, he went to the man who was the pastor at that time and told him he was going to have some extra time on his hands, and he would like to find a way to serve the Lord. The pastor assumed that Red would chair a critical financial committee for the church, or be involved in some other important and public way. He was quite surprised when Red said that he heard the three and four-year-old Sunday school class needed a teacher and that he would like the job.
And so it came to pass that the man who once ran the most important company in the county showed up the next Sunday morning to sit on the floor and tell bible stories to little children. Red didn't know much about teaching children in the beginning, but he was warm, kind, and willing. And he knew that patience and hugs are the keys to a child's heart.
My dad tells me that Red used to call all the kids in his class every Saturday night just to ask how their week had gone. He always ended the conversation by telling them he looked forward to seeing them on Sunday morning. Having a kid in Red's class became something of a rite-of-passage for young families at First Baptist. If you had a child in his class, you knew you had to be there every Sunday, because none of Red's kids ever wanted to miss church.
It wasn't long before groups of little children were seen following Red around the church wherever he went. He never minded the attention or the trouble. Some of them were in his class. Others were in classes from years back. People started referring to them as “Red's army.”
Five years became ten, and ten became twenty-five. Red grew older and slowed down a bit, but he was there every Sunday, teaching three and four-year old children their Sunday school lessons. He was faithful to his simple calling for a quarter of a century. After all that time, just about everyone in the church had a child or a grandchild who had been in Red's class. Some of the younger adults had been in Red's class themselves.
I hear that if Red ever stood up to speak in a church business meeting, a respectful and reverent hush would fall over the congregation. People respected Red not because he was Red Davis the successful businessman, but because he was Red Davis the gentle Sunday school teacher and passionate lover of children.
On Wednesday, August 11th, 2004, Red Davis died quietly in the Marshall hospital. As I said, Red wasn't a famous man in this world. I don't suppose the ripples of grief will travel much farther than Longview and Marshall. Of course, that wouldn't matter to Red. He was a man who was pleased to wait upon the table of his own humble calling until the day when the Lord called him to take his place at the Big Banquet in the sky.
My father is doing the funeral this Saturday. I hope the church will have enough room for everyone. At some point in the service he plans to ask everyone who was ever in Red's Sunday school class or ever had a child or relative in his class to stand.
Very few people will remain in their seats.
I have a feeling that my dad will also tell a story that has become well-known among Red's friends. One day a woman was in the local grocery store with her small child. The little boy said, “Mama, I just saw God.” The woman looked up and the child was pointing at Red Davis.
He was a small boy, and he was in Red's class. When he tried to wrap his little mind around the very big idea of God, the best he could do was think of Red.
What else do you need to know about Red Davis? What other eulogy do you need to hear?
Who was Red Davis?
Red Davis taught Sunday school to preschool children in an East Texas Baptist church for twenty-five years right up until he died. He was a man who loved God with all of his heart. His cup overflowed and that love spilled all over the children of Marshall. The fruit of his life and work are rooted in the red soil of East Texas and even now are producing a bounty in the lives of the people of his community. He was a good and faithful servant.
That's who Red Davis was.
rlp
