BY DR. GLENN MOLLETTE
We were shocked by the death of Senator Lindsey Graham. For 23 years he was a mighty force in the United States Senate representing South Carolina.
There have been numerous news releases. Hours of television coverage have been aired about Lindsey Graham’s service and life. Our President and Washington will miss Lindsey Graham regardless of which side of the aisle his colleagues sat.
Graham had just returned from a trip to Ukraine. He had spoken with President Trump just hours before his death. His death was sudden and without apparent warning.
As I write this, a preliminary autopsy report indicates that the cause of death was an aortic dissection. By now there may be an update on the final cause of death. Did Graham have heart issues that he was being treated for? Did he know he had cardiovascular issues? Was he taking a blood thinner? The plane ride from Ukraine is long. Did he develop a blood clot while traveling? Plane rides can be dangerous for this very reason. People are often stationary for long periods. It is not always easy to stretch out or move around on a plane. It’s easy to develop a blood clot. Many people do and have done so.
Was Graham poisoned? Russia is notorious for poisoning people many times in the past. I understand he was not in Russia, but I am fully convinced many Russian spies and agents are roaming the streets of Kyiv and working undercover in all kinds of places. Russia has perfected a poison that mimics a heart attack. Could something like this have been slipped into Graham’s food?
Early reports indicate Graham had a tear in his aorta and serious plaque buildup in his arteries. A tear in the aorta is almost always a death sentence.
The fact of the matter is that death can happen anytime and any day. Death is never convenient. Death never provides advance warning. Yet, it sort of does. We know it’s coming but we don’t know the day. Death may come at an old age or a young age. Young people who have all their lives ahead of them die every day. Some old people live on and on, but the time eventually comes.
Graham had a lot of good years ahead of him. Had he lived as long as Senator Mitch McConnell, he would have had several more years left.
Senator Lindsey Graham had to die because we all have to die. The high and mighty and the low and very poor. The proud and the humble. Those who have everything and those who have nothing. We all come into this world naked and crying and leave the same way.
The Bible says in Psalm 90, “So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” We should prepare for death and then live our lives as fully as possible. Paul said, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21.
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Dr. Glenn Mollette is the author of 15 books. He is a graduate of Georgetown College (Georgetown, Kentucky), Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, Kentucky), and Lexington Theological Seminary (Lexington, Kentucky). He is the founder of Newburgh Theological Seminary, Newburgh, Indiana. His column is published in over 600 national media outlets.