Death and the Young Athlete

I'm sure many of you have heard the story now about Jamiel Shaw, Jr., the high school football player from L.A. who was gunned down on March 2 as a random act of gang violence on his way home. The story was tragic not only in the sense that a young man of only 17 years old was killed but that also his mother was in the army serving in Iraq when it happened.

Stories like this crush me. I did not know Jamiel or "Jas" as he was known to his friends. I never met him. But I remember what it was like to be in high school. I remember what it was like to be around the athletes. I wasn't blessed with the great athletic ability that some of the people I was friends with. But I understood what it took to be successful. You had to work at it. In a young athlete, there is so much promise and potential and success all rolled into one. When I looked at some of my classmates, I could see their ability and also their potential. Whether they took advantage of it was up to them but it was there.

I'm sure that Jamiel was the type of player that had potential. The kind of player that was looked at by college scouts and was going to be one of the a factor on any team. But it is something that we'll never get to find out.

My hope and prayer is that Jamiel followed Jesus. I don't know if he did or not. My prayers are also with his family and friends as they deal with this tragedy. It once again reminds us how life is fragile, that no matter how invincible we may seem to be, how young we may be, we are all going to die someday. At least there is comfort in the One who has overcome death and brought Life to those who follow Him.