The Artist Formerly Known as Prince

I remember it like it was yesterday.  It was 1983, and I was 9 years old attending the birthday party of a school mate, whose name I can't remember.  I can't remember much about the party except the moment when this song came on, and we all started dancing around in the way only silly 9 year-old girls can. I remember the song ended,  and I ran over to the record player (you know those cool vintage things they sell at the front of Urban Outfitters for way too much money) to read the label on the 45 so I could know what this song was.  It said "Delirious" by Prince.  I also remember going home after the party to look up the word "delirious" in the dictionary (you know that really thick book that says Webster's on it that is on your mom's bookshelf) because I had no idea what it meant.  I can't say that my nine year-old brain comprehended the complexity of the song or its meaning.  I just knew it was a lot of fun, it made me want to dance, and I had just become a Prince fan.  By the time Purple Rain came out a year later (a film I was definitely NOT allowed to see), we were living overseas, and I was the proud owner of a Sony Walkman (shout out to my fellow 80's kids).  I purchased my bootleg copy of the soundtrack at the souk in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, and to this day, I can't picture the landscapes of that desert land without hearing "Purple Rain" and "When Doves Cry" in my head.  By the time I was in high school back in the USA, Prince was mandatory for dance team camp, and I still remember running to the group that would be learning the routine to "Batdance".  I mean even people who were not Prince fans got caught up in Julia Robert's rendition of "Kiss" in the movie Pretty Woman  and everybody had something to say when he changed his name to a symbol to protest his contract with his record label.  But, I didn't care about the hair, the heeled shoes, the bizarre outfits, or any of the theatrics.  I was simply a fan of his music. 

When I opened Instagram today and saw that Prince had died, I didn't have to look for a Prince station to stream (which apparently you could not do anyway).  I just opened up iTunes and started listening to my Prince playlist.  Yes, I already had a playlist.  Like I said, I'm a real fan.  I danced around my kitchen to "Delirous", "1999"and "Let's Go Crazy". I sang "Kiss", "Diamonds & Pearls" and "Adore" at the top of my lungs.  I vehemently explained to my 2 year old (who did not care at all) that "Nothing Compares 2 U" is Prince's song that Sinead borrowed, and his version performed as a duet is THE definitive version of the song.  And then I found myself alone in my car (praise God for babysitting friends) driving to Starbucks to do some writing, listening to "Purple Rain" and the tears began to form in my eyes.  Now,  I always thought the song had a heartbreaking sadness to it that made me well up even when I was 10, but today the tears were coming from the thought that came to my mind as I listened to the voice of this man that I was such a fan of for so many years, "Did Prince know Jesus?"  I've heard all kinds of rumors over the years about his beliefs, but you never know what is truth and what is gossip, and even when you know someone personally, you can't know for sure that they have made the decision to follow Christ. However, I began to wonder, did he?  Did someone share the Gospel with him in a clear and concise way at some point in his life? Did he hear the message? Did he recognize his own sinfulness and need for a savior--something we all need to do at some point if we want to spend eternity in heaven with God--and give his life to Christ? 

I don't know.  I just don't know, and that is why my sadness went even deeper than it had been when I first heard.  I've been in a study of the book of Revelation since September with BSF International and my pastor just started an incredible series on that same book.  Most people study the book of Revelation and get caught up in trying to understand all of the symbolism,  the four visions, the timeline of the end times and more.  Scholars debate all kinds of issues, and in my BSF group, we have had many discussions about the things we don't quite understand in the book, but the fact of the matter is, we are all curious about how the world will end and what happens after we die. We watch movies about it, read books about it, listen to songs about it.  Prince's own "1999" reveals his own interest in the subject and was written almost two full decades before we all freaked out over Y2K (Remember Y2k?  How ridiculous did that turn out to be!)  

I find that my own curiosity is easily satisfied.  When you tell me that I'm not supposed to completely understand something, I'm totally good with that.  Each time I've studied Revelation, I've been told at the beginning that there are some intentional mysteries in the book that we are not meant to understand, and I'm 100% satisfied to not understand them.  What is clear, is that in the end God wins, the devil loses, and every person who has ever lived will be on one side or the other - living eternally and joyfully with God or eternally and torturously with Satan.   I know that there are people who will read this and scoff, because you just don't believe that it is this black and white, this absolute.  You don't believe it because you haven't yet put your faith in the one true God.  I know there are people who read that sentence and get offended that I would claim there is only one true God.  I do believe that. Wholeheartedly.  Completely. Without question.  If I didn't believe it completely, then I could not claim to have any measure of faith.  

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6

Just a week ago  as Revelation was coming at me from all sides, I wrote this prayer request, "Let my worship be more heavenly, my witness have more urgency, and my will be completely yielded to God's!"  It's that second part that is at the forefront of my mind today as I mourn the loss of an incredibly talented man.  Does my witness have enough urgency? I didn't know Prince personally, so I can wonder if anyone told him about Christ, but I know plenty of other people personally that I can speak to personally.  There are people in my life: friends, family, acquaintances, co-workers, schoolmates that I'm not sure I've taken the time to tell the Gospel.  I don't know for sure that they have ever heard clearly and concisely the Truth: 

• We are all born thinking of ourselves and our own desires first and foremost.   It's obvious when you simply watch a 1 or 2 year old (I have both of those at my house right now, so feel free to come over and see it in action).  That selfish mindset is sin.  When you put yourself first and think only of your own needs you will lie, cheat, steal, hit, or do whatever you need to do to please yourself regardless of how it impacts others.

• God, our creator, is holy and perfect and can have absolutely nothing to do with sin.  He is eternal, meaning He has always existed and will always exist, so because He is eternal and can't have anything to do with sin, sin has to be finite, it has to end in death.  We all sin and the consequence of sin is death. 

• God sent his perfect son, Jesus, to this world to live a completely selfless life from his birth to his death.  He was brutally punished and killed as though he had committed crimes, when in fact he was innocent of ever doing any wrong, making his death the ULTIMATE sacrifice.  An innocent man, died on the cross for all of us who are not innocent, taking on the punishment of death that we all deserve and he never did earn.  

• Jesus was dead, for two days, but on the third day he rose from the dead and was seen alive by hundreds in the 40 days after he rose and before he went on to Heaven.  (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

• All who place their trust in Christ, acknowledge their sinfulness and need for a savior, believe in His death and resurrection, and receive the gracious gift of His sacrifice will be saved and will get to live eternally with God.   

There it is.  The truth.  The Gospel. It's that simple.  Knowing that it is that simple, and knowing that the consequence of not receiving this truth is so incredibly horrific, I'm compelled to share this truth with every person I can.  If you are a believer, you too should feel this urgency.  I don't want to hear about someone that I actually knew personally dying and know that I never once shared this eternity altering truth with him or her.  Whether or not they receive it is on them, but don't you want to know that they had a chance?  Don't you want to know, without question that you tried?  What holds me back? What holds you back? What keeps us from sharing the Truth that we know so well and hold so dearly?  Fear of rejection?  In this day and age you may be labeled crazy for sharing the Gospel.  Actually that's been true in every age.  There has never been a time in the history of Christianity that someone wasn't labeling true believers as crazy.  You can either be "safe" and make sure everyone thinks you're "normal" or "cool" or "sane" and never share the truth that could mean someone you know facing eternity in hell rather than in heaven, or you could speak up for God; you could allow compassion to direct you and maybe be called crazy.  To quote the artist formally know on this earth as Prince, LET'S GO CRAZY!!