In May of 1943, the world was at war and freedom and justice was at stake. In Poland the Germans had crushed the last of the Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising killing thousands of Jews and sending the rest to the Triblinka concentration camp to die.
Meanwhile in Alaska, American troops were battling Japanese soldiers on the island of Attu in the Aleutian Islands to retake the Island from the Japanese troops.
But God was busy raising up a one man army that would be fighting for a different kind of freedom and Justice by sending into the world a little black boy in Welch, West Virginia who would pass through this life being called Douglas Thomas.
You see when God created Douglas, he was creating a one of a kind. The Scriptures tell us Psalm 139:13-16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 6your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
In other words, none of us just happened. We came into this world, having been put together by God to make a difference in the lives of others and to make a difference for God. It’s amazing the different ingredients God uses to put us together in our mother’s womb.
God must have been thinking, this fellow Doug is going to be a tough one in order to accomplish what I’m calling him to do. I’ve got to put enough fire and passion in his bones to demand justice and freedom, wherever he finds oppression and chains, but I’ve got to wisdom to know when to speak and when to wait.
I’ve got to give him enough humor not only to make him able to bring laughter in the lives of others, but to use it to get past the his own pain and humiliation that he will experience in his journey of life.
I’ve got to make him curious enough to want to fill his mind with all kinds of fact and trivia but humble enough not to show off. I’ve got to make him patient enough to pass on the wisdom I will give to him to those who will not want to listen.
I’ve got to make him strong enough to be a great protector, yet gentle enough to be thoughtful of others in just the right moment. I’ve got to make him the kind of leader who knows how to walk alone when needed, but who is at his best in his hands on service to others.
I’ll give him just enough stubbornness to keep others from walking over him. That should about do it. I’ll leave a touch of my spirit, that He might know he came from me and one day he’s to come back to me. Get ready world, here comes one of my special gifts to you.
We are all a gift from God to the rest of the world. Life is the process of opening that gift and using that gift to enrich the lives of others. Unfortunately, far too many of us think, that the gift is to be an end in and of itself. All efforts are directed back on the gift itself.
Douglas Thomas was a man who understood that life is not found in seeking to simply please one’s self. The more lives you touch, the more enjoyable life becomes. In a day and a time, when a good man may be hard to find, I want you to know there are still some good men and that Douglas Thomas was one of them.
I believe one of the greatest celebrations of Black History Month is taking place right here, right now in the Celebration of An African American Man who knew the true meaning of being there for his family, actively participated in his Church, and stood up for those who could not speak up for themselves.
Doug didn’t start out on the top of society. If you are black, the third of 8 children, born in the 40’s, in a huge city like Wells, W. Va you better believe you were going to know something about poverty, about suffering, and about racism. Even moving to a larger city like Wellsville, OH was not going to change that.
Doug’s first encounter with trying to overcome the injustice of racism happened as a young boy. This little Caucasion kid would seek to humiliate Doug in a crowd by calling him a nigger as loud as he could. He did this several times in public. But Doug was a patient little fellow and did not take matters into his hand.
One day however Doug and his brother came across this kid and he was by himself. Even though Dr. King was getting his movement going in Montgomery with the bus strike, Doug at this point had not fully understood the doctrine of non-violence so he attempted to make a change in this young man’s behavior by giving him a beating. Doug then turned the young fellow over to his brother to further administer justice against prejudice and bigotry. Although Doug’s methods were unorthodox, that young man ceased to use the N word again in Doug’s presence.
Doug did enter into a period in which he sought to undo classism and economic inequality at an early age. Doug thoroughly understood the principle that God causes all things to grow. It appears that God was causing too many watermelons to grow in other people’s fields and there were times when Doug attempted to bring about a socialist revolution by redistributing the watermelons under the cloak of darkness to his friends and family without informing the owner of the watermelons.
There were times when the owner made attempts to talk to Doug about this matter, but Doug was never available for a discussion since he was fleeing the scene of the crime I mean economic exploitation. Doug went on in life to become a lawyer so that he could deal with situations like this in a more appropriate manner.
Doug always had a keen insight into knowing when he had discovered something good. He had met this young college student, when he was a graduate student in North Carolina. Doug went on to Cleveland to accept a job there. Years later this beautiful young college student had also moved to Cleveland to accept a job. Now Doug began to put operation “Doug the man” into action.
He asked this young lady by the name of Ella on a date. She accepted it. She remembered that he was one of the kindest and most thoughtful guys she had met. He treated her with the utmost of respect. He got up the courage to ask her to marry him. She was a 23 year old beauty at the time. If you had of seen her, you would have known why Doug wanted her so badly.
Her response was,” No, I’m not ready for marriage yet.” Now most people would have heard rejection, but Doug chose to hear the word “ yet.” So his response was, “the next time I ask you, you will be ready.” He continued to lay on the charm and the sweetness. His family fell in love with her and she with them.
As the years starting ticking past, Ella was starting to get a little nervous. She now realized this one, was a good one and she was hoping he might ask her again soon. Doug managed to wait three years before coming out to ask the question again. Just like he had prophesied three years earlier, this time she was going to be ready to say yes, and yes it was. They took a journey together that lasted 44 years and brought countless moments of joy, laughter and tears with each other. They knew what it was to be best friends together and to truly share life together.
There is a verse in the bible directed at husbands. It is a simple one, but not often carried out. It is “husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Doug humbled himself so that he could love his wife.
Ella speaks of the mutual respect they had for each other. Doug was eager to support her in her dreams and in her career. He realized God had a calling on each of their lives, and that true love required that they help each other to become all that God intended for each of them to be.
Men, we could take a few cues from Doug. His love was proactive when it came to their to sons. He would tell Ella, “you go out and do something for yourself, I’ve got the kids. He told her, “you have no business going to the gas station.” So he saw to it that her car stayed full of gas. He told her, “My wife can not be seen in a dirty car.” So he kept it clean.
They had a kitchen partnership. She would cook and he would do the dishes. If she tried to put the dishes in the dishwasher, he would take them back out so that they could be put in the right way. Ella experienced what it was like to be loved by Douglass Thomas and I think her testimony to him was the same as James Taylor when he sang “How sweet it is to be loved by you.”
Doug saw their sons, Cedric and Jason as much as his responsibility as they were his wife. He felt insulted if someone asked him if he was babysitting his kids. He’d let them know that he wasn’t babysitting, he was being their father.
He was determined to follow the biblical command given to fathers, which was Fathers do not provoke your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Both of his sons appreciated their father’s spiritual discipline and the patience he demonstrated to them in explaining what was right and what was wrong.
Doug wanted his children to know that he loved them and that he would be there for them no matter what the circumstances. He taught them to have a “never give up attitude” no matter how difficult things might become. But his sons remember the fun loving comical dad that they had, who always had their back. Both sons were athletes, and they would go to a game or meet in some small town, they had never heard of and their dad would show up to cheer them on. He took every opportunity to use it to help them grow into men.
Jason said his school was so small, they had to have girls on their team. When Jason went off the court or came on the court, he would give the guys a high five but he ignored the girls. His father picked up on this and after the game explained to him, “you must show the girls the same respect and encouragement that you give to the guys on the team.” That teachable moment instilled the idea of justice and equality into Jason.
Sometimes I think that God orchestrates special moments in our lives so that they can be shared together. Cedric was having a track meet. This particular day, Doug left work to be there. Cedric was a long jumper. He came running down the pathway, took a leap up into the air, and when he landed on the other side he had broken an 80 year old school record.
It was a joy for him to share that moment with his dad. Cedric wanted to know, how his dad knew to be there that day. His father told him, he just had a feeling today would be the day. I think it was God giving them a special son and dad moment together.
Now there were a couple of things that Doug did as a father that probably were not the best of examples but it sure gave his son something to remember. They were at home and it was hot afternoon. They had no air conditioning. Doug did remember there was air conditioning at the movie theater.
So he asked Jason if he would like to go to the movies. They went, but not before Doug grabbed his heavy winter coat. You see they had not eaten yet. They had a bucket of chicken. Jason remembers it being about 90 degrees and his father walking into the theater in this heavy winter coat in order to hide a bucket of chicken underneath. They smuggled the chicken into the theatre and had a nice cool afternoon.
The same love that Doug had for his kids, he had for his grandkids. He wanted Cedric to be an even better father than he had been, and so he would send Cedric books on how to parent and how to be a good father.
Doug’s generosity moved beyond his immediate family. His sister said of her younger brother,” he was always trying to be the big brother for us all.” At the heart of Doug was his love for the times when his family got together. He and Ella each came from families with 8 children, so there was always plenty of family to go around. Doug did not mind investing himself into the lives of others.
Doug and Ella were always generous in their support of the special outreaches of the church. If you look at the special projects done by Glenville in the lobby area of our church, you’re going to find their names. Doug was one of the charter covenant partners here at New Life At Calvary. When we first began our merger talks to create New Life At Calvary, Doug was there with thoughtful questions for the group to consider.
Doug would often leave you a word of encouragement with your sermon on his way out the door. If you preached a sermon involving social justice or overcoming oppression, Doug was going to let you know that was a really good message. Doug walked through life with a quiet and humble spirit.
He wasn’t out front leading the masses, but he was one who came alongside of you, changing lives one life at a time. He had a couple of saying, “First Things First” in other words stay focused and the other one was , “There is only one February 5th, 2016 make the most of it.” Each day is a gift, so treat it as such.
What made the difference in Douglas Thomas, that set him apart from so many fathers, so many husbands, and so many men today? It’s simple. He had enough vision to make his life count in the service of others. One day he heard a voice that called him to die. I’m not talking about the death he had Sunday , but one that he heard a while back that said, if anyone wants to become my disciple, he must pick up his cross, deny himself and come follow me. Doug heard the call of Jesus Christ. He made a decision to give his life to follow after Jesus Christ. It was a decision of his heart and of his mind.
Douglas Thomas has left behind a legacy of ordained days and has gone home to be with Jesus Christ. You may think, with all the joy and laughter he brought into the lives of his family and friends, and with all the love and commitment he gave to his wife, children, and grandchildren, that Doug certainly deserves to go to heaven
But if could speak to us today, he would say that’s not quite true. You see, according to the Bible, none of us deserves to go to heaven. Did you know that according to Jesus, most people will not go to heaven?
Jesus said in , Mat 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. We were all on that road to destruction. We have to choose to get out of it.
John 3:16-18 (NIV)
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
Entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the only way to enter that narrow gate. All you have to do is to admit, "God, I have done a lot of things I should not have done. I realize I cannot pay for all that I have done. I ask you for forgiveness. I accept that when Jesus Christ died on the cross, He being holy and righteous, paid the penalty for my sin. I invite him to come into my life and take control of it." Douglas made that decision years ago and has not regretted it since.
You will make numerous decisions in your life between your birth and your death. But the only decision that will still be personally affecting you a 1000 years from today, is what did you do with Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches there will certainly be a resurrection of everybody from the dead, and then comes the judgment of God. That judgement involves a reality of heaven and hell. God raised Jesus from the dead to let us know there is an afterlife and we shall spend eternity in one place or another.
Douglas Thomas is prepared for that Judgment. Like the Apostle Paul she can say, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
We may say of Douglas Thomas , that he was my friend, he was my uncle, he was my brother, he was my father, or he was my husband, but the greatest truth of them all is that Douglas Thomas is and forever will be a a child of God who has now completely returned to God. For those of us who die without knowing Jesus Christ. Douglas Thomas will only be a memory, a very good and loving memory. But for those of us who do know Jesus Christ, Douglas Thomas . is simply waiting to meet us on the other side.
For the Bible clearly teaches,
1 Th 4:13 Brothers and sisters , we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men and women, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
