Happy New Year! A Tribute to Kobe Bean Bryant 1978-2020
If you are reading this message, it means you are one of us who was blessed to make it into 2020. It’s a new day, a new year and a new decade..10 years. We are still here for a purpose, reason, time and season.
Jerimiah 29:11…For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you and to give you a future and a hope. To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born and a time to die.
Who knew that on January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi and seven other individuals would die tragically in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Kobe had been flying by helicopter his entire NBA career from home to work. His goal was to arrive at work an hour early to practice his skillset. His discipline and work ethic set him apart from the rest. Then he would fly home an hour early to spend time with his family that he loved and adored. His purpose for flying in the helicopter was to preserve his body from fatigue and avoid the extra time it took and the stress of driving on the 405, one of the busiest freeways in Southern California.
God knew how many days and the 41 short years Kobe would live on this earth. The enemy Satan came to steal, to kill and to destroy, but Jesus came that we might have life more abundantly. On Sunday, January 26th, nine lives were stolen and cut short. Some will say, God took them, but I submit to you, God did not take them. Psalm 116:15 says… Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.
My prayer is that I hope everyone who died all had a personal relationship with God by confessing Jesus as Lord. I believe Kobe knew Jesus as his Lord and Savior. It was reported that he and his daughter Gigi attended a Church/Catholic Mass and also received communion on Sunday morning the same day they died. I choose to believe he and Gigi were believers in Christ Jesus. Even though I did not know the other passengers on the helicopter, I pray they all made it to heaven. Romans 10:9-10…If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. Salvation is a free gift and Jesus sacrificed His life for all mankind to be saved. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him should not perish, but have everlasting and eternal life.
I am praying for strength and peace for Kobe’s wife Vanessa, his parents, children and all those family members, fans and friends of the victims whose lives were lost in this horrible tragedy. I am praying for healing of all of our broken hearts and freedom from grief and bereavement. I pray for the Prince of Peace to grant the peace that passes all understanding. I pray that many, many lives will be saved and God’s love will penetrate the hearts and minds of those who are lost and in need of a Savior. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just that he may forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness…I John 1:9.
I pray Kobe Bryant’s legacy will live long and strong into eternity. I pray I will see him again in heaven…Rest in Peace '‘Black Mamba” Kobe Bean Bryant. God’s Dearly Beloved son.
By Dr. Stella Spicer Davis