Dave and Danny
I was home on fall break during my second year of college and decided to meet one of my best friends from high school to go to the high school football game. Dave was a 6’ 2” good looking guy, a good student, and an outstanding athlete. He was popular with both the guys and the girls, and the two of us had been co-captains of the basketball team when we were seniors. As we walked around during half time, visiting with old friends and some under classmen who still remembered us, a kid came up to us and just seemed overjoyed to see Dave. Dave appeared to be genuinely happy to see him as well. When we got back to our seats I asked Dave what that was all about. “Is he a relative of yours?” “No”, he replied. “Well, he seemed so excited to see you.” “His name is Danny Redford. He was in my Phys.Ed. Class when I was a senior.” “Right,” I said with a laugh. ”He can’t be more than a sophomore now.” “Seriously,” Dave said, “he was in my Phys. Ed. Class, or maybe I should say I was in his Phys. Ed. Class.” Dave went on to explain that when basketball season was over our senior year, he had to pick up a phys. ed. credit in order to graduate. Because of scheduling conflicts, he couldn’t get into a senior high phys. ed. class, so the principal put him in a junior high class. At that I cracked up. “You, the best athlete in our class, had to take phys. ed. with 7th and 8th graders? You sure kept that quiet. How did that work out?” I asked. “Well”, Dave said, “after the first class, it was obvious it wasn’t going to, so the teacher made me his assistant.”
Dave then told me the story about becoming friends with Danny. After a few weeks of being the assistant, the teacher just turned the class over to Dave. He even gave him the grade book, as Dave would take the class outside by himself. It didn’t take long for Dave to see that Danny was a misfit. Danny had some physical challenges that made him different than the other guys, and he was always the last one chosen for the teams. He was angry and belligerent and refused to participate in anything. In the grade book behind his name each day was a big red F. One day Dave decided to experiment and see what would happen if Danny was chosen first for a team. He got the two top students in the class together and told them when they chose up teams for flag football that day to pick Danny first. Dave said you couldn’t believe the look on Danny’s face when he heard his name called first. The captain had to tell him several times to come over and stand beside him. He also got them to agree with some other guys to allow Danny to run the ball and let him make some yards without his knowing they were letting him do it. Again, Danny couldn’t believe it when they made up a play where he was to run the ball. He wasn’t sure what to do with it, but managed to run a couple of yards before he was tagged. A few plays later, Dave told the captains to give Danny the ball again. This time he ran for six to eight yards. A big smile burst across his face when a couple of guys complimented him on his run and gave him a high five. Dave said he could see things changing right before his eyes. One of the guys who helped Dave, told him after class that at first they had let Danny make the runs, but by the end of class they weren’t giving him anything. Dave continued his experiment with less effort for several more classes. Gradually Danny’s anger subsided. He began to come out of his shell and co-operate and participate. In short, Danny began to blossom, and by the end of school he was just one of the guys. It didn’t make him a great athlete or make his physical challenges disappear. What it did do was to make him feel accepted and respected by the other boys in his class.
Wow. I shook my head in amazement and was thoroughly impressed with Dave’s insightfulness and compassion. But, I was not totally surprised. Dave was a devoted Christian who walked his faith daily without pomp or showiness, without condemnation or arrogance, and without shame or compromise. He was what I later came to know as a “daily devoted disciple of Jesus”.
I rejoiced at my friend’s actions and understood why Danny was so excited to see Dave. However, I soon forgot about the whole incident, and it never entered my mind again for over 30 years. On April 20th, 1999, as the news of the Columbine High School massacre trickled out, I remembered Dave and Danny. I have thought a lot about the two of them since. Each time there is a new school killing, I can’t help but ask, “What if? What if there had been a ‘daily devoted disciple of Jesus’ who had befriended Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold or any one of the other killers? Would it have made a difference?” My answer comes back a resounding “YES! Yes, it would have made ALL the difference.”
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians about this very thing.
Colossians 1:26 & 27
“— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Christ in you is the hope of GLORY (Heaven). All of Heaven, God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, the Four Living Creatures, the Elders, and all the angels are banking on Christ in you to accomplish the salvation of mankind, nothing else can do it.
And because of this, “Christ in you” is the hope of your school. ” “Christ in you” is the hope of your work place. “Christ in you” is the hope of your family, your community, our country, and our world.