A Comparison

I don't know about you, but I am absolutely sick and tired of all the coverage on Michael Jackson. You may disagree with me. I know he was a great singer, entertainer, dancer, etc., but he is in the news, magazines, newspapers, and internet 24/7, and every little detail. Enough already! This Thursday, he will have been dead two weeks, and yet we still can't stop hearing about him. He had some great songs, and I will admit to owning a greatest hits album, but he was also extremely weird, a possible pedophile(whether you think he was or not, his "sleepovers" with young boys were odd), and probably on some type of prescription drugs when he died. Not to mention the fact that he mutilated his body with plastic surgery and looked anoxeric and just sick. I think he probably was sick, emotionally, physically, etc. But most of all, he just needed Christ! Compare him to this...

Arnold's grandmother Susana (and I wish I had a picture of her on the computer to show) passed away a few days ago, July 3rd. She was 99 years old. This beautiful little lady died while her family was around her singing hymns and praying. She was married for many years to Arnulfo Lopez(whom Arnold is named after...Arnulfo is the Spanish translation of Arnold), and they were missionaries in Mexico with the Foreign Mission Board (IMB). They served there and also served in several churches throughout Texas. Susana had ten kids (all girls, except for one boy...#9!), and loved planting flowers and taking care of her yard, singing hymns, and praising the Lord. In fact, when we visited her in 2006, we all gathered around her bed and sang hymns while she lifted her frail little hands to praise the Lord. I didn't get to know her very well because of distance, but I do know that she loved the Lord and served Him for many years. What a beautiful picture of a godly life that was filled with hope, peace, and promise of the life to come. We definitely know that she is now in heaven and still praising the Lord!

I think we're safe to assume that Michael Jackson was probably not a Christian (his family are Jehovah's Witnesses). If anything, his life, from my point of view, was a tragic display of emptiness, heartache, and void of any true peace and joy. It is sad to think of how he might be suffering now, though people on earth are still praising him like they would an idol. And then you have Susana who has received no outpouring of support, sympathy, and grief from millions of people all over the world. No one is passing out with the news of her death. The Today show has not reported her death for two straight weeks. And no one is paying thousands of dollars to Ebay for a ticket to her memorial service. But today they are celebrating her life at a little funeral home in Texas, and the life she now has with Christ for eternity. Could anything compare to this?