Steve Irwin: 1962-2006

I was saddened to hear that Steve Irwin, famous worldwide as the “Crocodile Hunter”, died Monday morning when he was fatally stabbed in the chest by a stingray barb while snorkeling near the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia.

Irwin was famous for his commitment to conservationism and his passion for wildlife, and ever since he came onto the scene in the U.S. in the late 1990s, I liked him for the childlike enthusiasm he always displayed for animals, the unbelievable courage he had to get as close as possible to animals that most of us choose to stay away from, and his funny Australian accent.

Spending so much time around dangerous animals like crocodiles and poisonous snakes, Irwin avoided death on such a regular basis that he almost seemed to be impervious to it. Sure, hanging out with an angry crocodile would be a hazardous endeavor for you or me, but for the Croc Hunter, it never really seemed to posed a threat; he was always in control of the situation.

Or at least, that was the case until Monday, when I was reminded that, despite appearances, none of us is really in control of the situation we find ourselves in, and none of us can escape death forever. One of the realities of life is that it is ended by a physical death that comes for all of us, and can come at any time.

But fortunately, that doesn’t have to be the end of the story. The Bible teaches that for those who live for Christ, physical death is overcome by eternal spiritual life.

I am not impervious to death; it will claim me someday. But it will not be the end of my story.