Heart Tracks - Without Hope

"Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope." I Thessalonians 4:13

The recent and tragic death of basketball superstar Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and all the other passengers in that helicopter, has brought about grieving throughout the nation and world. The Bible calls death "the last enemy." No one escapes it, and for those without Christ, it is an end with no hope. This is something, based upon the above Scripture, I will try to address today.

Amid the grieving, there is something more that I have seen. A pastor friend shared that an acquaintance he knew told him that she'd been unable to get out of bed the day after hearing the news. I'm sure she wasn't alone in her response and in the extent of the devastation. Media was filled with video and photos of NBA players and fans weeping. The sorrow was evident everywhere. An icon had left, and unspoken but true, he had left nothing to fill that void.

I have seen this kind of sorrow before. We all have. Elvis Presley, John Lennon, John F., John Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy. The death of these and so many equally revered men and women have left an emptiness in the lives and hearts of those who had made them bigger than life idols. When they were removed, gone, much of life's meaning was as well. That is the way of worshiping idols, and these idols are not just Hollywood and sports celebrities. They are also found in possessions, status, reputation, professions......ministry. Our love of these can be so strong and intense, that the reality of Almighty God is lost. And when that which is not Him is lost, nothing remains. There is no hope. There is only devastation. As the above Scripture says, those without Him have no hope when death, either literally or figuratively, takes place, and that which we've centered upon is lost. That is a tragedy, an eternal one, for all those in that condition will take that condition into eternity. Eternal hopelessness. My heart grieves at that thought.

Yet we who call ourselves His people need to allow His Light to search our lives and hearts for anything upon which we've placed our hopes and love upon that is not Him. We say He is our hope, but we live with much of our hope centered in that which is not Him, is against Him. When these things, relationships, people are removed, so is our hope. Are any existing in us today? Will we be able to stand when they are removed? And they will be removed.

Perhaps it's time to allow His Spirit to search us. As His Word says, "Now is the acceptable time." Kobe Bryant, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, and all those like them, were upon this earth one minute, and gone the next. Our idols can offer no guarantees, other than eventually, they will either leave or fail us. For those who are His, death is real, but Jesus Christ, and His hope, are more real. So is the eternal life, eternal hope He offers. Do you have that hope? Do you live in it right now?

Blessings,
Pastor O