Pastor Phil Cooley One year ago, Alex Trebek, the long-time host of the tv game show Jeopardy announced that he had advanced stage pancreatic cancer; a cancer that is both incredibly painful and highly fatal. Since that first announcement, Trebek has kept his
fans well informed both of his progress, good and bad, and his reflections on life as he contemplates his own mortality. In all these brief moments I have been amazed by his attitude.
While I do not know Alex Trebek’s relationship with God, he models the attitude that we as believers should have in the face of great adversity. I would not be surprised if his faith in God, which in his most recent video, he acknowledges as a sustaining force through this incredibly difficult experience, is a faith in the incarnate God, Jesus Christ. Whatever his understanding of God is, his messages to his fans exemplifies the call to us as believers to “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:12). I’ve learned many fun facts from watching Jeopardy over the years but they all pale in comparison to what I have learned from Alex’s example.
From his example, I hope for two things. First, I hope that in my own life I can embrace the hardship of life with the joy, patience, and faithfulness that Alex Trebek has displayed so well. Second, I hope that on the day when God has finished his work and we are with him forever, free of affliction and pain, I will find Alex amid the family of God. I mean, let’s be real if anyone can go toe to toe with God on matters of fact, Alex Trebek must be in that conversation.
Let me leave you with his videos.
First Update- youtube.com/watch?v=7cInGyxCY9k
Second Update- youtube.com/watch?v=cJd8p_1BYMg
Most Recent Update- youtube.com/watch?v=y8c_mAxW7QI
