Julie R. Neidlinger: Lone Prairie Art Works (via Mowser)

Heath Ledger.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 2 comments link this post

Well, what to say?

A little girl lost her dad. Family and friends are crushed. That is where the real pain is. Prayers for people experiencing that are always called for, celebrity or not.

I obviously didn't know Heath Ledger and, beyond finding him good-looking and intriguing and enjoying some of his movies, I really don't have anything to say about his death. I didn't have anything to say when Anna Nicole, Steve Irwin, Brad Renfro, or any other such celebrity died, either.

Certainly, when someone dies who has become part of your existence -- in the case of celebrities, they become part of your pantheon of entertainment gods who exist out of regular thought but are supposed to stay there and not die -- it's a shock.

Death is daily dealt out to all people of all ages of all nationalities and of all economic position. Just because we don't know they exist, as opposed to being aware of celebrities, doesn't make it any less tragic. We just can't react to the tragedy because we don't know their story. It's not a judgment call on us being hard-hearted; we can't react to what we don't know about.

So, when I read the discussion found on this post, I kind of wonder what the point is. The discussion in the comments section on certain celebrities who live a lifestyle (Spears, Ritchie, Hilton, et. al.) that would make the news of their death unsurprising or even deserving seems odd from a Christian web site and (I assume) readers who identify with the Christian faith. Christians, after all, have a faith which includes a key component of not getting what we deserve (thank you, Jesus) and, of all people, ought not even mildly revel in the idea of who deserves what nor act surprised when death comes down the pipe.

I did leave a comment, essentially saying that we don't know all the details and that the main story here was that Heath Ledger is dead, and we are not. So, thank God for the grace of another day of life. Whether Ledger's death was accidental or on purpose doesn't change that premise.

Today, you are alive. Tomorrow, you might not be. Why did God allow you breath for another day? It's not because you're good enough, and that, when you slip up, you're dead. It's because of His grace.

Don't waste it.

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