Horace Doss was buried today in an Alabama countryside. He was a beloved husband, father, granddaddy, and great-granddaddy. Cancer overtook him suddenly, and he died on August 25, 2009 at 1:30 PM. Surrounded by his children and their spouses, he opened his eyes wide, looked around the room one last time, smiled, and breathed his last in this earthly life. He was a man whose faith was firmly fixed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and the fruit of that faith is evident in the legacy he leaves behind in a believing wife, believing children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Mr. Doss steadfastly served the Lord, and during his years of Gospel ministry he even baptized his granddaughter, Denise, who is a member of St. Mark – a moment with her grandfather she will always cherish.
On the same day of Horace Doss’ death, Senator Ted Kennedy also succumbed to cancer. Likely, you have read the reports, or seen the coverage on various news stations recounting Kennedy’s legacy. He was known as the “Liberal Lion” – a political appellation which is ironically fitting. According to a recent Time magazine article, Senator Kennedy was a man of quiet Catholic faith and prayer. While I am not willing to discount that the Lord uses Obadiahs for the purposes of His kingdom (see 1 Kings 18), it does not appear that the Liberal Lion qualifies for such status. Dated August 3, 1971, Ted Kennedy closed a letter with the following statement:
When history looks back to this era it should recognize this generation as one which cared about human beings enough to halt the practice of war, to provide a decent living for every family, and to fulfill its responsibility to its children from the very moment of conception (emphasis added).
Mr. Kennedy’s pro-abortion voting record indicates that his conviction on the responsibility to children from the moment of conception did not last.
Tomorrow the coverage of the Senator’s funeral will be extensive, likely complete with aerial views. I doubt that Mr. Doss’ funeral today received as much fanfare in the press, if any at all, and suspect the procession was not followed by a helicopter. But who was the greater man? The one who leaves behind a legacy of death? Or the one who leaves behind a legacy of life? I never met Senator Ted Kennedy, nor did I ever have the privilege of meeting Horace Doss, but I look forward to meeting Mr. Doss in Glory.