Did Michael Jackson's Memorial honor Jesus?

On the way home from work, I heard a Bay Area radio personality entertaining the question "Did Michael Jackson's memorial service bring honor to Jesus or make a mockery of Him?" Knowing that we had DVR'd the service in order to watch it this evening, I was even more interested after hearing the diversity of opinion from callers.

As I watched the memorial, I was again reminded of what an incredible talent Michael Jackson brought to his art. Love him or hate him, he was simply the best - from a talent perspective - in his genre when he was at his prime. As I listened to the spiritual content, I heard many of the familiar comments I hear at memorials coming from those desiring to comfort and be comforted. Stuff like "He's in a better place" and "Michael's smiling down on us" and "We needed him, but God must have needed him more".

Those sentiments aren't bad. In fact, they are very good - and they prove one thing for sure: When we are grieving the loss of a significant other, we all reach for that hope of a hereafter. Even the most devout atheist - when confronted with losing a loved one - will often admit that they at least momentarily consider the possibility of an afterlife. Is this just wishful thinking? Or perhaps is it a part of an ordered creation - as one philosopher called it "a God-shaped hole" in the heart of every human - that is placed there by the Creator and a restless void within us never settled until we find our rest in the knowledge of that very God?

When Jesus' closest friends were worried about His impending death, He assured them with the following words: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6). These words came just after He had encouraged them with a promise that He was going to Heaven ahead of them to prepare a place for them - and by extension to every other Christ-follower who would come after them.

Was Michael Jackson a follower of Christ? I know he had early childhood roots in the church and Gospel music. I know he was very generous in his quest to help the helpless worldwide (something the Bible calls "pure and undefiled" religion). But a follower of Jesus? I'm not sure. In his worst moments, he certainly didn't seem like one. And yet, his fame made certain that his worst moments were plastered everywhere for the world to see. Which one of us who considers himself or herself to be a follower of Jesus would want our WORST moments laid open before the entire world to see?

God's love certainly covers a multitude of sins. The salvation issue is not about who lives the squeakiest-clean life. The issue boils down to whether or not those sins are forgiven. And according to Jesus Christ, that forgiveness is only available through TRUST - or as the Bible puts it, FAITH - in His redeeming work on the cross. I don't know if Michael Jackson truly understood God in this way. But God knows. And in answer to the question "Did the memorial bring honor to Jesus?" I answer with an emphatic YES! Any time the culture is talking about Jesus, it is a time for His followers to engage in the conversation - and when we do it graciously and wisely, it brings honor to Him.

I would like to know your thoughts on this cultural phenomenon we know as the death of Michael Jackson. Feel free to chime in if you have an opinion or question......