Once again, the world watches with great sadness as one of its great entertainers dies at a young age. Whitney Houston was a great talent, a great inspiration to many. Surely, much will be written over the next few days about her. It will range about her fantastic career, her battle with drugs and alcohol, her bad relationships. Those who loved her will ask that she be able to rest in peace. Those who want to make a point will argue that she be held up as an example of what not to be.

I remember waking up on Sunday morning, August 31, 1997 to the horrible news that Princess Diana had died in a car accident. At the time, I was attending a megachurch in Louisville, Kentucky, pastored by Kevin Ezell, now the president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board. It was tragic news, but on my way to church, I thought, “He has to say something about this. But what in the world will he say? Because if I was in his place, I wouldn’t have a clue.“

The congregation was buzzing about Princess Diana’s death and everyone had taken their seats. Bro. Kevin got behind the podium and said something I will never forget. “It’s a tragic thing that happened early this morning to Princess Diana. We should be in prayer for her family. But the most important thing right now is this – what did she do with Jesus Christ?“

That’s what our earthly journey is about. That’s why we live, why we blog, why we exist. What will we do with this man from Nazareth? What will we do with this man who came into our midst and preached and lived like none other? This man who was crucified? The one who bore our sins?

I watched the last interview that Whitney Houston had. She was interviewed by Access Hollywood. You could see that she was tired and exhausted, but she had a spirit about her that wanted to share. She spoke of people who were praying and intercessing for her.

Her last singing performance was the night of her death. It’s becoming Internet folklore by now. She stepped on stage for a brief performance with her friend Kelly Price. The song? Jesus Loves Me. It makes you wonder if she knew. If her heart was struggling.

I don’t pretend to know what Whitney Houston did with Jesus Christ. But I do know something about how fragile all of us are. I do know that we start somewhere simple. We can get placed on a pedestal and fall. We can make terrible, tragic mistakes and even if we do, our God is there to love us when we fall.

One final story. This one is about a guy you’ve never heard of. In my first year of pastoring, I was asked to do a funeral for a man who died at a young age. He had a troubled life but had seemingly turned it around after years of trouble and drug abuse. Tragically, he died of heart failure. He had spent the last couple years of his life being rejected by many because of his past.

When the family approached me to do the funeral, I agreed. He had made a “profession of faith” when he was young, but many people in the community had told me, “there’s no way he’s saved. Look at how he lived his life.“

I asked the family for his Bible. When I began to read through it, I found that he had made many notes in it. When I got to the book of Romans, he had written a lot. One thing he had scribbled down humbled me. It said, “I’m not much, but I know that Jesus saved me. He will never let me go.“

I read that at his funeral. I said, “I don’t get to make the call about people’s salvation. But I know that this man was at peace with God when he died. He knew that Jesus loved him.”

What will we do with Jesus in this life? That is the most important question we can ask and answer.

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Ray Carroll is author of Fallen Pastor: Finding Restoration in a Broken World which is available at Amazon.com and is also available for the Amazon Kindle.