I had just finished teaching Bible study four Sundays ago when I looked at my messages and saw that former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter crash. It was very surprising, and the news got worse: Eight other people were with him including three young girls, one of them Kobe’s 13-year old daughter. Celebrity deaths are not new, but for some reason, this one felt different to many people.
Much of it simply has to do with the fact that he was a basketball legend and our culture worships celebrities that we do not even know too much. However, I think there is something even more to it: Someone like Kobe was larger than life and wasn’t supposed to die before his time. Him dying so suddenly made everyone reckon with their own mortality because if he could go, any of us could go.
Scripture is clear on this point in many passages. One is James 4:13-15, which warns against presumptuous planning because our lives are like vapor. Another is Hebrews 9:27, which states that human beings are slated to die once and then face judgment, and that’s that. This should remind us of many things. It should remind us to focus more on the important things like family and friends. It should remind us to express our love and gratitude towards these people more frequently. It should remind us to cherish our lives moment by moment more.
And for Christians, it should remind us of the urgency to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Life on this earth is fragile and has few promises, but there is one promise that we can take to the bank: That whosoever believes in him shall be saved and have eternal life. In our battle with death, death always wins, even against the strongest and most successful of us… except that one time when Jesus rose from the dead. And that’s why Paul could write in 1 Corinthians 15, “O death, where is your sting?” Someone earned the victory over death and sin, and he offers to share that victory to those who trust in him. Tragedies like this, when death seems to win once again, should remind us that pain and loss do not have to have the final say. – Pastor Isak Lee
One Light Church 