There is no room for doubt today that we live in a fallen world.
We are each processing this tragic news in our own way, and my heart is broken for this family that has been ripped apart. We don’t know the whole story yet, and for the sake of the family, I hope we never do.
However, there is a call here for those of us who claim Christ as Lord: we have a responsibility – every day, but today especially – to weep with those who weep; to be present in their lives; to show them love in the same measure that we have been shown love. Be there, physically, if possible, other ways if necessary, but be there. Be there to cry with them, be there to let them be angry. Be there to love, be there as a monument to the fact that they are not alone.
There is something larger that also bears repeating: as believers, we are called to bear one another’s burdens. This is a difficult thing for us to do, because as Americans we are trained to not show weakness, not show pain, not ask for any help greater than a push out of a snowbank. However, we all bear burdens, and there are some who bear burdens that they believe are too great to bear. It is our joy, our blessing, our charge – our loving imitation of Christ – to come alongside those for whom the weight of this world seems too much, and to love them, to carry them, to hold them, to speak peace to them as Christ has spoken peace to us.
If you are carrying a weight, however heavy, or however light, know this – God has provided a way through. We may not be able to see it from where we stand right now, but that is what he does – he gives a way through the desert, and streams of water in the barren wasteland. Let God, through us, his church, bear the burden you carry. Let us walk along beside you. We’re not perfect, we don’t have it all together, but we love you, and want to help you.
You do not walk alone.