Editor's Thoughts on Pavarotti · Christianity For Today

How saddened we were to hear of the death of Luciano Pavarotti: 1935 - 2007. Dead in his hometown of Modena, Italy at the age of 71, losing his battle with pancreatic cancer. Certainly all lovers of opera mourn his loss. He has been characterized by many as the greatest tenor since Enrico Caruso.

I never had the privilege of hearing Pavarotti live and up close in concert. I did hear him on television','when the Three Tenors sang together (Pavarotti along with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras). What a treat that was! He was called "King of the High C's" as he could hit high C repeatedly and seemingly without effort. I was always amused to see him carrying a white handkerchief in his left hand, I guess to wipe away the perspiration from his brow.

We are reminded of death and our own mortality almost daily in the newspapers and on television. Great personalities from the arts, politics, education and business are passing from us almost daily. Ruth Graham is dead! James Kennedy is dead! Luciano Pavarotti is dead! It was even said once, Jesus is dead! Only, three days later it was said, Jesus is alive again! (Listen Now: The Resurrection)

Jesus taught us about being "Born Again" and receiving the gift of eternal life. (Listen Now: A New Birth) In fact, surrounding the death of his friend, Lazarus, Jesus told us that he is the resurrection and the life. If we believe in him (who he was and what he did for us on the cross), although we die physically, we shall live spiritually. (Listen now: The Raising of Lazarus) This is the great hope of the Christian man and woman. In Christ, death is the entrance into eternal life. The death of well-known personalities makes us think seriously of these things once again.