For some, many of her fans included,
it was a terrible shock. They had grown
up with her singing as the ‘soundtrack of their lives’ as one commentator put
it. That she should die at such a young
age was such a terrible waste. But for
those of us who were a little older, perhaps, it didn’t really come as a shock
at all. Some of us remember the death of
Elvis Presley, six years younger than Whitney, or Karen Carpenter who died aged
only 32. And it is only a matter of
months since Amy Winehouse was found dead at the age of 27. All of these famous names were otherwise
ordinary people blessed with a most extraordinary gift, a gift that made them
millions. But true happiness evaded
them. Instead, as another commentator,
suveying this repeated pattern, said; “Amazing talent brings fame and fortune
which then swallows up these artists in a whirlpool of sin, addiction, and
death.”
Though most people recognise that, we
are so slow to truly learn the lesson.
The queues of hopefuls at every ‘X-Factor’ audition show us that. We are a society which values and rewards
‘gifts’ as never before, but who care nothing for the Giver. Satan has turned our hearts so that even what
God gives us is twisted to drive us away from Him, rather than in thankfulness
to Him.
And yet, throughout this sad episode,
God was still, it seems drawing men and women to Himself. The BBC news channel gave over several hours
of its Saturday evening schedule to show the funeral, where, amidst much
theological confusion, the Word of God was read, quoted and explained. And time and again that week, we were
reminded of eternity, as we heard Houston’s most famous song, with its haunting
refrain ‘and I … will always love you’. How sad it was, that like many singers of
this world, she sang about an endless love without ever finding one, or
experiencing one.
The message of the Bible, one that even came
over in an imperfect way at her funeral service, is there is such a thing as an
eternal love, and that it is possible for someone to hear those words of
promise that Houston sang, said by Someone who means it and who has the
capacity to truly do it. God says to His
people “Yes, I have loved you with an
everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” (Jeremiah
31:3). The One who gives gifts to
people, as part of the bounty of His creation, has given us His Son, the
greatest gift of all, because He has an eternal love for His people. Though we all get caught up in our own
‘whirlpool of sin’, the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to rescue us, not
just from sin, but death and hell too.
And He will always love us, because that is His very nature! Have you come to love Him?
