Death Postponed

 

Death Postponed

I find it amazing  from where the Lord gives me ideas on devotional topics! This is from February 13, 2010.
Since I don't have cable television, I enjoy it while at my brothers' homes on vacations, particularly the history-type stations. Over Christmas, I got caught up in the Bio channel, with their in-depth profiles of celebrities. One show I watched was a biography of television producer Aaron Spelling. Growing up poor in Dallas, Spelling struggled in his youth with physical ailments and emotional trauma but overcame and graduated from Southern Methodist University. It took time to break into show business but Spelling changed the landscape of American television, although some might claim not for the better. Spelling's hit series on the small screen included The Mod Squad, Charlie's Angels, Dynasty, and Beverly Hills 90210. His successes brought him great wealth as well as turmoil. When he died several years ago, the tabloids were filled with stories of the estrangement between his wife/widow, Candy, and their actress/daughter, Torri. Some of the story lines he created are being played out by his flesh and blood.

One great aspect of the biography shows is learning details of lives that you would be hard pressed to find elsewhere. This Aaron Spelling documentary had such an insight. After SMU, Spelling enlisted in the ARMY and was assigned, not surprisingly, to a squad which entertained the troops. One fateful day, his company was flying to another base to perform. Spelling became ill and was unable to travel with his fellow soldiers. Given a few days of leave, he made his way back to Dallas unannounced. When he arrived at his house, he found the streets crowded with cars, a harbinger of death with visitors coming to grieve with the family. What Aaron didn't know was that the airplane carrying his company had crashed, leaving no survivors. His parents had been mistakenly informed by the ARMY that their son was among the victims. Aaron Spelling innocently walked into his own wake.

How might we react on finding a loved one we believed to be dead was still alive? How long would it take for our grief to turn to rejoicing? I love the stories in the Scriptures where Jesus raises a child from the dead in front of the parents. Could there ever be a better earthly gift for a mom or dad? I doubt that at the moment Aaron Spelling's mom saw him walk through that door she began demanding an explanation from the authorities. Seeing her son alive, I'm sure, was enough. One of the bedrocks of Christianity is the belief that Jesus indeed came back from the dead. The apostles struggled with fathoming that unbelievable news and needed proof to be convinced. We poke fun at Doubting Thomas but he was by no means alone in his doubt. I'd like to think my faith would have been instantaneous with the first reports of His resurrection but I probably would have been slow to believe as well. Two thousand years gives us a nice cushion of time to sort it out mentally. The first followers did not have that luxury. The Savior's death was such a crushing blow to their dreams and to hear the grave was empty must to some have seemed a cruel joke. Aaron Spelling cheated, and I use that word loosely, death one time but as all mortals, he could not postpone it indefinitely. But One did conquer the greatest enemy of flesh and blood and because He did, we can live again. Our death won't be the final act of our existence. It will only serve as the opening scene.

Applicable quote of the day:
"But, I don't know, the violence, I can't even talk about. We don't do a lot of violent shows. When I started in television, breaking a pencil was a violent act.'' Aaron Spelling

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1