I woke up this morning to yet another tragic news story. Although details were not yet available, the magnitude of the tragedy was already clear. The headline read, “The Most Deadly Mass Shooting in US History,” and the article described the gruesome shooting that took place on Sunday night in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It is heart breaking, it is tragic, and it should cause us to mourn to see that kind of evil on display.
In light of the tragedy, I was reminded of 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV),
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
This Scripture reveals two important truths in our grief as a Christians:
First, we are comforted.
For anyone who was directly impacted by this tragedy, our God is the God of all comfort. He is sovereign over all things, and He loves us perfectly. In moments like this, we know that our God stoops down as a gracious and loving Father to comfort us in all of our affliction. There has never been a moment when He has not been faithful, and there will never be a moment when we are not in His care.
Second, we are comforters.
For everyone else who was not directly impacted by this tragedy, there is an important “so that” statement in this scripture that we cannot miss. “(God) comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction.” We are comforted in order that we may comfort!
This is why the gospel of Christ shines so brightly against the backdrop of tragedy! The church is a collection of comforted people sent out by God to bring comfort to those who are hurting. We are to take the comfort that we know through Christ, and we are to give it to others. We are to comfort others “with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” We are comforted comforters.
So, how do we do that?
1. Speak Comfort before Politics
There are no shortage of opinions out there, and social media has transformed each smart phone into a potential megaphone, ready to announce opinions to the world at large. Gun control, speculations regarding motive, and even Democrat vs Republican issues begin to fill our news feeds in response to this tragedy. It is easy to get entangled in all of the debates, and to use our voice to offer our opinion rather than to offer comfort.
However, as a follower of Christ and as someone who has experienced the comfort of God through the Gospel of Christ, this megaphone also has the potential to be used as a tool of comfort. In response to tragedy, our lost world is dealing with hurt, confusion, and questions about the evil that they have witnessed, and each social media post is a small way to share the comfort of God to a hurting world. As comforted comforters, let us be careful to use our voice well to be a source of comfort to those who are hurting.
2. Remember the Hope we have in Christ
As we encounter the pain of tragedy, we will experience real grief. This is an inescapable reality of life in our broken world. However, we don’t grieve as those who have no hope. Through times like this, we must continue to look to the hope that is secured for us in Christ. We stand on the hope for our future through Christ in Revelation 21:4 (ESV);
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
This is our hope in Christ! We are unable to offer comfort to our hurting world if we have forgotten the hope and comfort that is ours though Christ. Let us remember the hope that we have, and point each other to this hope through times of tragedy.