Lyza, a classmate to kids in our youth group, committed suicide. A young girl died of a heart attack one block from our home. A church family’s 10-year-old son died. Carlos, a young man who came up through our youth group was killed in a car accident. Ciso, a man from our block who grew up with Nes, was tortured and killed as revenge. Another young man was shot one block from the church.
All of this happened this year. Whether it happens to the “innocent” or to the “delinquent,” our community struggles to make sense of it. At the same time, there is numbness. The news seems to communicate, “There goes another one.” Unless it is a cop. Then coverage lasts for weeks.
In another neighborhood, you can watch countless neighbors on television in shock, wondering how this could happen. In ours, neighbors build shrines of teddy bears and candles and balloons—left to soak in the rain.
How does God call us to respond to people’s grief in a place like this?
We must share the gospel and explain the hope that is in Christ. We need to encourage folks to share with their families. Then, we can take the advice of Paul: “...we do not want you...to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” I Thessalonians 4:13
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