The Washington Redskins'

defensive back, Sean Taylor, was murdered at the age of 24 at his home in Miami, Florida. To hear of someone so talented and so young losing their lives is, for me, more disturbing than hearing of someone die of cancer at age 80. In my mind I reason the 80 year old person has had their chance or chances to accomplish whatever they wanted to in their lives.

My same reasoning will conclude how this much younger person didn't receive the same opportunities to live, adjust, live, adjust as the older person did. My sense of justice is skewed by the lack of my knowledge of either person's heart and motives. What might look like injustice or even unrighteousness in my eyes could be changed simply by the complete knowledge of the lives, hearts and situations that existed in reality rather than in my own incomplete perception of the same.

I think this same lack of information when sizing up people, their hearts, motives and situations contributes not only to miscommunication between people, thus hurting their relationships with one another, but also builds walls between people and prevents them from even ever establishing a working relationship in the first place.

With each person, whether known personally, famous or both, God knows them completely and the truth about their lives is the most important aspect in their existence is their relationship with God. This, for me, never comes into such clear focus until someone has crossed over into the eternity God has promised is following this physical life. This also is easier to see in the lives of others rather than evaluating our own relationships with God and subsequently seeing the need to change.