What Defines a Life?

What defines a man or woman?

The sudden death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and the seven other passengers on the helicopter has set off a chain of large scale grief across the world.  Kobe and Gianna are memorialized in murals, billboards, buildings, roadsides and hashtags around the world. From Los Angeles to China, communities, fans and families grieve at various levels. As someone who suddenly lost my father as a teenager, I am keenly aware of both the depth and span of the impact to the sudden loss of life.  My heart goes out to the families, friends and communities of each person on board of that helicopter. While it is not making the news like Kobe and Gianna, I know there are families, friends, high schools, colleges, co-workers, and communities rightfully grieving the loss of each life involved. 

This past week has brought out some of the best and worst in humanity. There has been a massive outpouring of love and respect towards life. Simultaneously, the mass media is  competing over “breaking news” in ways that seem to have little regard for those most deeply impacted. Then there is the outright hate. Critics and activists feel compelled to highlight the worst mistakes Kobe has made and say people should not be grieving him like they are. While I am not excusing any of his actions, I do have a deep belief that people are not defined by their worst, or best, accomplishment. Even in spite of all of his athletic accomplishments, the story of his fatherhood seems to be taking the limelight in this week after the crash. The #girldad is trending way higher than #mambaforlife or #ripkobe. In his death people are seeing that life is not guaranteed for anyone, and that the connections we have with people are what matter. 

A family member’s connection is deeper than the friend’s connection, which is deeper than an acquaintances, which is deeper than a fan’s connection, yet all of them are grieving.  Obviously family and friends are weeping at the loss of someone they knew so well, but even fan’s are filled with tears, men and women alike. Men do cry, and that is good. 

In my perspective, one of the things that defined Kobe’s and set him apart was his fierce determination to fight for what he loved and believed in.  I have seen friends through issues of infidelity, and that is TOUGH on both sides, it is something deeply painful and it takes both parties deeply committed to stay together.  Kobe did this with the world watching and judging his every response. While I think this failure is a part of his story, I do not think Jesus would define him by his mistakes. I also do not think Jesus would define him by his basketball success.  

When I look at Scripture and the life of Jesus. He defined people by how they responded to trials, truth, and success. In the end He is looking to see who we brought with us and how we used the time, talent, and treasure he gave us. In the end we are like the servants from Matthew 25:14-30 who want to ultimately hear, “well done good and faithful servant.” How we use our time matters, tomorrow is not promised. Let us start investing in what really matters today. A life  is not the talent we have, the mistakes we make, our financial stability, or even our fame. A life is defined by how we see ourselves in relationship to God, how we invest and use what we are given, and by the lives we impact along the way with love. 

Let’s make out life count today, because tomorrow may never come.