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TITLE: Being Well Known
By Ken Grant
03/04/20
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I live in California, not far from Los Angeles, and recently a tragedy occurred. A helicopter crashed with a number of people aboard on a Sunday morning. Such an event would normally hit the news for a cycle and then pass on, but in this case one of the people who died was a former athlete who had affected many people throughout his life and had spent most of that life in the public eye. There was almost no one who didn't have an opinion about this person. Many spoke well of him, but there was a significant minority who thought of him in a different light. Either way, his death could not occur without it having a significant impact on many.

A few days after the occurrence, a friend wondered if I had been following the reaction to the athlete's death as well as the lack of focus on most of the others who were involved. She mentioned his mistakes and was frustrated that so many would focus on him alone. I understood her feelings, but I also understood why so many had reacted as they had. This athlete had been part of the lives of so many for a very long time. It was impossible to avoid him, his life, and his accomplishments in his sport. A number of my friends had reported seeing him about town. He was connected to so many and his death had to have a deep impact.

The odd thing about all this is that none of my friends and a significant number of those expressing sorrow over this man's death truly knew him at any level. Merely seeing someone speaking on television or excelling at a sport, while it does create a connection, does not reveal the truth about what a person is really like. Many people who live in the limelight craft a public persona that is very different from who they really are. Fame creates its own set of truths that are often at odds with reality. If we allow ourselves to be caught up in the trappings that surround a person then we will find it very difficult to truly know them at all.

In the end, all of those who died in that helicopter accident had lives of meaning and entered eternity having to account for that life before the living God depending on what they did with Jesus Christ in this life. There was a report that this celebrity athlete attended church the morning before the accident, but it will be his faith, not his fame, that will enable him to enter into heaven. Living life in a fish bowl will always be a challenge. Sometimes it is difficult for the famous person to know who he or she really is. Like all of us, the challenge is to be true to the person God has created us to be and to live a life of trust in Christ for salvation. My hope is that all of those who died that day learned this lesson before they stepped into that helicopter and their lives were unexpectedly taken away.

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