Three Rights

A LIFE WELL LIVED

I met Jonathan shortly after we placed membership at Valley Creek Church of Christ in Mesquite around the year 2000. He wasn’t a constant presence at worship, but he attended often enough. He had been raised by his grandparents, two dedicated Christians who were Jonathan’s greatest influences. His grandfather Raymond was a retired Dallas Policeman. He was quiet and mild mannered, a deacon in our Church.

Jon looked young for his age though he was grown. Whenever he attended worship, which was more often than not, he always made it a point to find me and strike up a conversation with me. I have to say that, although Jonathan was a Christian, he just seemed to lack conviction.

For work, Jon held low paying jobs for the most part, but managed to get by. Jon seemed to me to be a young man in need of a friend. Looking back, I reflect that I could have done more to fill that role, but I don’t feel bad about it, considering the way things turned out.

Things changed for Jon when Scott moved to Mesquite from Porterville, California. Scott was a committed Christian, on fire for the cause of Christ. He quickly became a big influence in our congregation, taking an active role in the work of the Church and teaching

classes. I didn’t get to see him a lot because I was traveling with the Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort, but I did get to see him often enough when I was home. A short time after Scott came to Mesquite, I preached in his hometown of Porterville and had some great conversations about him with his family and friends. I also preached at congregations in surrounding towns like Tulare, Exeter (where my father-inlaw was from), and Fresno. All of the members of the Church of Christ in those towns knew Scott, and he was the subject of a lot of conversations. They all loved him but were quick to admit that Scott always loved Texas even though he was born in California, and they felt he was destined to move to Texas.

Scott got involved in Texas politics, and I got to know him in that realm as well as at Church. He quickly made friends with a lot of my friends in the political world. But none of those friendships compared to the connection he made with Jonathan. Looking back, I see the similarity to the famous friendship between King Saul’s son Jonathan and presumed heir to his throne, and David, a lowly shepherd that would become King.

The two of them became inseparable. They made the decision to move to Cedar Creek Lake and found a house to rent in Tool, Texas. They dubbed their new place Rancho De Loony Tunes, and it quickly became a center of social, political, and especially spiritual activity. They became very active in the Church there, and Jonathan found the purpose that God had always intended for him. People quickly came to love them.

They would decorate for Christmas when temperatures were still 100 degrees, and they would have big Christmas parties. They would have Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all of the trimmings several times a year. All of this would be well-attended, not just by people at the lake but from Christians in the Dallas area. Scott and Jonathan held Bible studies in their home every Friday night and broadcast them on Facebook Live. They were like two coals of fire for Christ, each drawing spiritual energy from the other.

The relationship impacted Jonathan in other ways. He got a job at the Walmart Warehouse in Terrell and quickly gained promotions and raises. After a few years he switched to working for Amazon and excelled at his job there. Jonathan became a new man, one of purpose, a dedicated Christian. It was a change that only God is capable of.

Six weeks ago, Jonathan came down with pneumonia and was taken to Methodist Hospital in Dallas. There he spent a lot of time in Intensive Care and intubated, which he hated. Scott never left his side. Finally last week, he crossed the bridge and joined his beloved grandfather. I can only imagine the reunion as Raymond greeted his grandson, a completely different man from the one he left when he died.

I can only say that Scott’s influence on Jonathan was profound. But Scott says the same thing about Jonathan’s influence on him.

KEN LEONARD