And every tear will be wiped away

Death. 

The only thing we are guaranteed, yet the one thing that few are ready for. 

In our hearts we know this is not how it should be. We know that people should not die young, but that we are meant to grow up and live full lives. We know that life and death are not things to be taken lightly. But do we really?

I can tell you that there was a time in my life that I wanted to be dead more than I wanted to be alive. And by the grace of God I no longer feel that way. But that's not the point. This isn't about me. I am alive, heart beating, lungs breathing, eyes shimmering with wonder. My problems seem trivial in the face of death. This isn't about me. 

This is about the 21 year old boy who is no longer with us, about the many people of color who no longer feel safe leaving their homes because of death threats, about the teenagers who go to bed praying that they won't wake up in the morning. This is about the people who are no longer living.

Now we have these conversations. These conversations about about race and mental illness and life and death. When we should have been having them far before this moment. And so we mourn. We mourn because we live in a fallen world and bad things happen. We mourn because even though Jesus conquered death once and for all, it still hurts. And we question how there can be good in things so terrible, where is God's graceful hand in all of this?

"For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of living water,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

(Revelation 7:17, emphasis added)

A day will come where sadness will be no more and every bad thing will be made good. There will come a day when this all makes sense. But until then it won't make sense, and it shouldn't. Because quite frankly this world is just messed up. I pray that I may never become apathetic towards death. Just because you don't know the person affected doesn't mean you shouldn't care. It seems almost every few weeks there is something else in the news saying that someone (or several people) have died. I pray that this never ceases to move me to compassion and action. Denial is getting us nowhere. We need to be talking about race. We need to be talking about mental health. Not just after someone dies. Right now. 

And so we pray. We pray for healing, for reconciliation, for love, for community. We pray for the day when this will all make sense. We pray until He comes.