The 'King of Pop' Dead at 50

He was called the ‘King of Pop’ and was thought to be the single most recognizable person on the planet. But all of the fame, fortune, and some misfortune, came to an abrupt end when Michael Jackson shocked the world by unexpectedly dying at his home at age 50.

Fans brought new meaning to the song "I'll Be There" Tuesday, as thousands descended on the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem to honor their beloved pop star. The Rev. Al Sharpton told fans at the theater, "The spirit of Michael is here. He's bad, he's our brother, he's our friend." Mary Wimberly of Elizabeth, New Jersey, attended the show and said upon arrival, "I felt this is as close as we could get to celebrating him to a new eternal life." The singer will be remembered for his unique dancing and for perhaps for his most recognizable hit tune, “I’ll Be There”.

Michael Jackson had it all – at least from a human perspective. But he also had a sin nature like everyone ever born. For that reason alone, the “King of Pop” also needed the forgiveness of the “King of Kings, Jesus Christ, as he drew his last breath. Mary Wimberly was right in that her idol entered into a new eternity last week. But The Rev. Sharpton was dead wrong concerning Mr. Jackson’s spirit being at the Apollo - or anywhere else on earth!

The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 reveals what happens to a believer in Christ upon death. In verse 6 he writes. “So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” Those who die in Christ are immediately with Christ and leave nothing on earth other than memories and the lasting effects of whatever ministry they offered to God. Likewise, the spirits of all who die outside of Christ are removed from the world – only to a place of suffering as they await final judgement.

For the Christian, the motto “I’ll Be There” is the confidence and blessed hope of their faith. They need not hope or guess that they will someday be there with God in heaven for a new eternity. And their outlook is not a boasting in their own good works or attempts to please a holy God. It is rather based on the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and on the promise of the Scriptures. “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13)

The ‘King of Pop’s’ spirit is gone and his eternal fate is sealed - somewhere. But for those who yet live, they still have the golden opportunity to be able to say concerning forgiveness and eternity in heaven, "I’ll be there"!

“Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Bill Breckenridge