The Death of Two Giants

In the last seventy-two hours, I have mourned the passing of two people who played an indirect role in my life. One I grew up admiring, whereas the other I came to admire in the autumn of my life.  Almost everyone knew the name of America’s oldest teenager, Dick Clark, but many would not be familiar with Chuck Colson. Most of the fanfare and spotlight has been upon Clark, but in comparing the lives of the two men, it is clear that the giant of a man was Chuck Colson, despite how media might portray the lives of the two men.
Dick Clark said in 1997, “At this stage of my life, everyone says ‘When are you going to quit?’ I’m not an overly religious man. I believe in God. He’ll tell me, ‘You gotta quit,’ by taking me away. That’ll be the day I’m either too sick or I drop dead in my tracks. I don’t want to stop. I’m having too much fun.”  Dick is credited with a lion’s share of helping rock and roll music take the cultural world by storm. Potentially that is not a good legacy. In the past several years, I have not paid much attention to the guy I thought would never age, since my focus has been on spiritual matters and not pop culture. To my recollection, I never heard anyone say a bad word about Mr. Clark. His upbeat personality and infectious enthusiasm coupled with his handsome physical package made him a natural to succeed in the world of show business. When I was young, I thought this was the purpose in life: to make friends with everyone and to be loved by all who knew me. At that point in time, I had not encountered the Bible passage that indicates that those who love Christ will be hated, criticized, and scoffed at by the world. It’s amazing how much my viewpoint of success has been altered. Being a teenager was great, but it was only a stepping stone to becoming a man of understanding.
In a new book to which I’m applying the finishing touches, I include a section on the Christian Hall of Fame. In that section, I inserted a small subsection for my heroes of the faith. Chuck Colson was on that list.  This is what I say about him: I always find it amazing how many people find Jesus in the prison system. Perhaps the fact that preachers have a captive audience assists in the conversion process. In any case not many, if any, of them give back to prison ministry the way Chuck Colson has. Colson, who authored some very fine books of his own, has been a key player in the prison ministry world in addition to blogging about the defense of the faith. In speaking out boldly the word of God, Colson offended many. He understood that the praise of God are more desirable that the praise of men.
Colson made some mistakes in life which changed the direction of that life. Getting sent to prison was the best thing that ever happened to him, though I’m sure that possibility was not on his mind as he heard the cell door clank. Clark seemed to live his whole life going the same direction toward success and the praises of men. I hope that destination was not a dead end and that Dick Clark gains entrance to the Pearly Gates. I have no doubts that Mr. Colson will have a seat of honor in Heavenly realms. We will miss his sword of truth down here. It is time for some other men and women to step up and take his place.