She was riding with her boyfriend to her family's summer home to celebrate her father's birthday when the Lexus she was riding in lost control and flipped multiple times. The boy was not speeding. It's possible he simply fell asleep at the wheel.
Young people have died in the past. So have promising artists. While each of these deaths is tragic, few make the national news like Marina's did. What is the difference? Perhaps because just days before her time was up she talked about having so much of it.
It reminds us of a parable Jesus once told. He said, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’"
(Luke 12:16-20 ESV)
We don't have to guess what Jesus was trying to teach us through this story. We know his purpose for the parable for two reasons. First, we know the context of the parable. A man came to Jesus and demanded that He require the man's brother to split the family inheritance with him. To that Jesus said, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions”
(Luke 12:15 ESV). Second, we have Jesus' own words at the conclusion of the story to the audience who was listening to it, "So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21 ESV).
The world does not know what was in Marina's heart and where she stood with God. That side of the story has not been told by the news media. We can only hope that she made peace with her Maker. Still, her story is a stern reminder of the reality that faces each and every one of us - we could die today. We really could. And when that time comes, does it matter how much wealth we've accumulated? No, it does not. Does it matter where we live, the car we drive, or even if people were impressed with us? None of it matters. Consider the parallels between the rich man and Marina: Like the rich man, she was wealthy. Like him, she was going to make her mark on the world. And like him, she had to leave it all behind because her time ended much sooner than she planned.
So, are we totally helpless here, unable to do anything about our lives or our after-lives? Well, we certainly cannot do anything about the timing of our transition from on to the other. But Jesus does give us two thoughts, and they are the two sides of the same coin: 1) don't make our lives about going after money, power, or fame, and 2) become rich toward God.
The first thought is self-explanatory, but the second one can stand some unpacking. What does it mean to become rich toward God? It can involve a lot of nuances, but the foundational idea is to make our lives about pursuing God instead of going after those other things that so often distract us from our true purpose. I suggest that there are two parts to pursuing God. First, that we participate in a relationship with Him, that we pray, praise, sing, read, live - that we do it with Him, to Him, and for Him. Second, that we become like Him. We allow God to transform us into people that are loving, joyful, peaceful, and you know where I'm going with this: patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.
The world won't be able to see your spiritual wealth. You can't live in it, drive it, or wear it. You can't store it in a new barn or put it in a book or play. But you can share it with people when you interact with them. And this, I believe, is where Jesus was ultimately going with this parable - sharing our wealth. He wants us to become rich in Him so that we can give it all away. After all, we can't take it with us. And why not start giving it away today because, as we leaned in Marina's tragic story, we never know when our giving-away time is going to end. In other words, we need a sense of urgency in the right direction.