I had some thoughts this morning about the horrible tragedy of the helicopter crash that happened yesterday morning in California. 9 people lost their lives, including, of course, Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter. Absolutely heartbreaking on so many levels. But what, or actually who, I can’t stop thinking about are the families that have been left behind. Kobe Bryant left behind a beautiful wife and 3 daughters. What must they be going through, I don’t want to even imagine. LORD have mercy. And the baseball coach, John Altobelli, left behind a son and daughter. Breaks my heart.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t greave the enormous loss of each person on that helicopter, but my heart truly breaks for those left behind. Where do they turn? How do you move on? With the recent death of Toby Mac’s son, which was also incredibly heartbreaking, the solace that could be found in that is that they had hope. It doesn’t make it any less difficult or tragic to deal with, but hope is the only thing that can get us through each excruciating moment sometimes.
But what does that even mean? Hope. Hope in what? For those of us in Christ, it is hope that what God’s Word says is true and that we will have eternal lives with Christ in heaven because of His sacrifice for our sins. Because He died, was raised and now lives, we have hope unlike those who don’t have Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
I pray that each of those friends and family that were left behind find hope. And not just hope for hope’s sake. That’s nothing. It means nothing, those are just words. But hope in Christ. Our lives are but vapor. We live knowing that one day we will ALL die, we just don’t know when. But despite the circumstances, despite what it may look like, for those of us with faith in Christ, we have hope despite the worst this world can give us. LORD, I pray that those families find hope in the promises of Christ.
