A Lesson from Kobe Bryant

I don’t know about you, but I was stunned after church this past Sunday when a couple of our teens informed me that Kobe Bryant had just been killed in a helicopter crash. At first, I thought that the boys were pulling my leg. How could it possibly be true? As long-time Lakers fans, my wife Christine and I have spent many hours over the past twenty years watching Kobe score more points than all but three players in NBA history. Kobe was only 41 years old, and he had a wife and four kids who needed him. How could this happen?

Sadly, it could happen because life here on earth is fragile. Helicopters crash. Bullets fly. Cancer strikes. And floodwaters rise. No wonder the Scriptures tell us in Ephesians 5:15-16, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

This is what we are striving to do each and every week at Impact Christian Church. We aren’t promised next year or next month. So, surrounded by 78,000 neighbors within a five-mile radius, we are setting up shop at the Ralph Baker School in Victorville every Sunday morning, making the most of every opportunity to lead people to Jesus Christ.

I was relieved to learn that Kobe Bryant was a faithful church attender. He attended an early morning Catholic mass just minutes before boarding the helicopter in Orange County. Although much Catholic teaching pollutes the pure gospel message communicated in Scripture, I hold on to the hope that Kobe, his daughter, and the other seven passengers on that helicopter were believers and followers of Jesus Christ. If so, they are in Paradise with our awesome God right now. Please join me in praying for Kobe’s wife Vanessa, her remaining three kids, and the tens of millions of people around the world who are grappling with their own mortality.

When a tragedy like this happens, it serves as a wake-up call for all of us. We must make the most of every opportunity to express our love to our spouses, our kids, and our grandkids. We must make the most of every opportunity to point our family, friends, and neighbors to Jesus Christ so that they don’t have to play the guessing game—wondering whether or not they will make it to heaven after they die. And we as a church family must continue making the most of every opportunity to roll up our sleeves and do what God has called us to do: To love others, learn God’s word, and serve Him until every last person is reached with the life-saving message of Jesus Christ.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our worship service Sundays at 10 a.m. at the new Dr. Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.