Maranatha
There are certain seasons of life—weeks even—that have an immense heaviness to them. Solomon wrote many thousands of years ago, “[there is] a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Eccl. 3:4). This past week fit squarely into the season of weeping and mourning. As I watched one of the most well-known and bold Christians of our time, Charlie Kirk, murdered, I also caught wind of another high school shooting in Colorado while also seeing a video of a woman brutally murdered on a train in Charlotte, NC.
It’s in weeks such as these that words are hard to come by…where do you start and what do you say when the brokenness and evil seems insurmountable? I know many followers of Jesus felt similar feelings as they watched the news reports pour in day after day. The question then is not simply what do we say but also how ought we to think and believe as Christians in the midst of such tragedies.
Regardless of whether you agreed with all of Charlie Kirk’s political ideologies or if you never heard of him; regardless of whether you caught all the news last week or some of it; as a church, here is how the Bible instructs us clearly and pointedly to think and believe at all times…but especially in seasons such as we are in now.
We’re at war
The Apostle Paul could not have been clearer when writing to the church in Ephesus. He said, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:10-12).
It can be easy in the west to be lulled into our creature comforts and the illusion that things “aren’t that bad”. But the Bible unequivocally tells us that until Jesus returns we are at war with the Enemy. The events on the news last week help us to see with more clarity the reality that Paul spoke of here. Which means, we ought to prepare each and every day to do battle - by putting on the armor of God; by boldly proclaiming the gospel; and by praying for strength for our fellow believers and for salvation for unbelievers.
We grieve…but not as ones without hope
Before we try and give answers or even console one another we must grieve. Romans 8:22 says, “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” Creation itself groaned as it languishes under the effects of the fall and whenever we are confronted with those affects as vividly as we were last week we ought to groan too.
But as we groan we also lift our eyes to see the hopeful promise in the next few verses: “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:23-25).
This is the hope that allows Paul to confidently say to the Thesselonians, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). This means we ought to spend time deeply grieving the death of Charlie Kirk because he was an image bearer, a husband, a father, a friend. Our grief indicates that this is not how it was meant to be. But we must grieve differently…we grieve with hands held high in worship to King Jesus.
We worship through tragedy
Thus one of our responses to any of the events of last week must be to worship through it. Worship is what distinguishes us as followers of Jesus from every other grieving (or not so grieving) person around us.
King David in the midst of the wilderness—when his circumstances were grievous—still declares: “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.” God’s steadfast love, as seen most evidently in Jesus, gives us reason to worship even as we weep. To give glory to God even as we grieve.
And it’s because of this dual disposition (weeping and worship) that we can do in this season as Peter instructs, “And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it” (1 Peter 3:15, NLT). When your co-worker, or your son-in-law, or your neighbors asks you how you can grieve and give God glory we will be ready to give our answer, which in sum is simply Jesus. We can worship because we know that the True King is on his throne and a life built on him is one that will not wash away regardless of what the news throws at us (Matthew 7:24-27).
We’re in the world but not of it
At the same time we must remember the expectations that Jesus clearly laid out for us as his followers. Disappointment (despair maybe) is when reality fails to meet expectations. Jesus told us what to expect, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).
As it relates to the murder of Charlie Kirk—as grievous as that is—let’s be careful as followers of Jesus to not be caught off guard by things that Jesus clearly told us would happen. Again, in the west it can be easy for us to lose sight of the fact that in places like Iran, India, and China people are being brutally murdered for their faith on a week to week basis. Jesus told us to count the cost and the cost is nothing less than being hated by the world that we are in but not of.
We long for Jesus’ return
Finally, in the last verses of the last chapter of the last book of the Bible we read, “He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20). When the heaviness of the world weighs down upon us - the Apostle John helps us to lift our eyes to heaven.
Waiting is hard. But waiting is what we do as followers of Jesus. And when children get shot within the supposed safety of their school building or a young defenceless woman gets murdered in public, or a courageous Chrisitan gets shot on a college campus, we wait with one word: Maranatha…come Lord (1 Cor. 16:22). The events of last week often are used by God to shake us back to the truth that we are living between now and not yet. We know how the war ends but the battles still rage. And as it does we patiently but continually get on our knees and cry out, Come, Lord Jesus!
In sum, there are two helpful “to-do’s” (in all times but especially in these times). First, remember that God has given us a community of believers to process and pray with. Remember why the writer of Hebrews exhorted the church to not neglect meeting together: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (10:24). That means you ought not sit on your feelings of grief, loss, or confusion but process these with other followers of Jesus. Come to us as pastors (our door is always open in matters such as this), go to group and pour out your heart, attend the men’s prayer gathering next Friday and beg God to move. In seasons of weeping and mourning don’t functionally "neglect meeting together as some are in the habit of doing” (10:25).
And lastly, seize this season. Already we have seen many persons who do not have their sure foundation in Jesus wrestling with the sandbase of their life that is washing away. We have to seize those opportunities to tell them of the true hope we have in Jesus. Pray for those moments, look for those open doors, seek out conversations with lost friends. If we truly believe Paul’s promise that “for those who love God all things work together for good” then we should expect to see some serious Kingdom expansion in this season.
May it be so and come, Lord Jesus.
Pastor Jeremy
