Red Cornwell Funeral

It’s a real honor to be here this afternoon. My hope and prayer for all of you is that you remember Red fondly. That you grieve well. And that your love and remembrance of Red draws all of you closer together as a family, and closer to Jesus.

A Life of Obedience

Walter “Red” Cornwell was a man who knew hard work. He sought to live his life as a productive member of his family and his society. He gave himself to his work.

I love to hear the stories of the family affair of picking vegetables out of the garden. When Elma and Red said it was time to pick, it was time to pick, wasn’t it?

From his job at EZ Mills to the chicken house, Red kept it all going and kept a tight ship. You better believe his garden rows were straight and properly lined out.

I spoke with a couple of church members and asked them what they remembered about Red and Elma. One said that they always arrived well ahead of time to start, whether to get ready for Sunday School or get their seat in the Worship Center. No one could take their seats because they were always there faithfully about 20 to 30 minutes before service.

But they weren’t just pew-warmers. They were active. Elma received an award for her many faithful years of service in Sunday School. They were pillars of our church, and people we should never forget. Their legacy will remain at Cassville for generations to come.

I hear about Red Cornwell and I can’t help but think he was one of these vines that Jesus talks about that produces a lot of fruit.

When Jesus spoke of the vine producing fruit, He was speaking to the fact that His followers, if they were obedient to Him, would produce fruit for the Kingdom. When I think of Red always seeking to put his hand to the plow and get after the hard work of his life, I am reminded of this verse.

You could see this in the fact that it wasn’t until a few years ago that he finally got off his Ford tractor. Even after retirement, Red was getting after his work. Shouldn’t that be us, too? I hope at the end of my life, I am remembered as one who was faithful and obedient to my calling in Christ Jesus.

Red was obedient to his Savior and he worked hard.

In Revelation 22:3 and all throughout the Book of Revelation, we are described as having fruitful employment in Heaven. It’s not a toiling work, but a joyful work. Red saw joy in his work, and maybe that’s something that’s lost on our culture today. We see joy in entertainment and comfort, and have lost the joy of seeing the fruits of our labor. Red never lost sight of that. And he was better prepared for Heaven for it.

Maybe he’ll serve God in Heaven in a similar way, tending the fields, stewarding the lands of a thousand hills.

His Need for Jesus

There in the Scripture, continuing with the agricultural theme, we see the main point of everything Jesus was teaching about: that we abide in Him.

That abide is not just a passive remaining in Jesus. It is an active clinging to Christ. It’s a clinging to Jesus that says, “I will not let go.” Jesus commands us in this Scripture to cling to Him! No matter how hard it gets nor how heavy the wind and rain come, the only way for a branch to stay alive is to cling to the vine.

And so, Jesus tells us to cling only to Him. But it’s not just a, “Hey, you’d better hold on or you’ll get left behind.” No, as you all in this room know, the vine supplies to the branch everything it needs to cling on to Jesus.

Such was true of Red’s life. He was faithful to the very end to His Lord. I remember meeting Red, and one of the things that struck me the most was that he would NOT let me leave the house until I prayed with him. What a testimony.

As I was speaking with Mike the other day, he shared with me a pretty touching story. Said he hadn’t really shared it with anybody. As Red spent some time at Redmond, he was heard crying and apologizing in his bed. “I’m sorry for everything wrong I’ve done.” Later that day, Brittany was in the room, and Red told her, “Jesus saved me a little while ago.”

Now, what we know of Red was that he lived his life in service and faith to his Lord Jesus. Let me tell you why this story struck me so heavily. I think we all know that Red was a faithful believer. I described that about him earlier. So why would he pray this prayer and tell someone that he’d been saved?

I’ll take a step out on faith and tell you why I think he did this: Red never. NEVER. Forgot his need for his Savior. Even as his earthly mind and body deteriorated, he knew he needed a savior. That’s evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work in his life.

I pray that someday when I’m old and frail and having to rely on the care of others that I’ll have a faith like that. I’ll have reached the end. I’ll have run the race. I’ll have served Jesus all my life. And there at the end of it all, my eyes are not on what I’ve accomplished. I don’t go to Heaven with a polished resume. I simply go with Jesus.

If Red were here and could tell you one thing, I believe he’d tell you the same things that anyone who’s in Heaven would:

He loves you.

Even more important than that, trust Jesus.