It is not common for me to be sad with deaths and tragedies, I still have a heart that is very cold and far from what I consider to be a heart of a disciple. But…
I woke up on November 29th and early in the morning while reading the newspaper I got scared and sad. My stomach churned as I read the news of the Chapecoense plane crash. A football team I’ve never watched playing and knew little about their history, but such a tragedy afflicted my heart.
Throughout the day, I could not contain my tears, and several times I cried with deep sadness. So many stories involved. So many families. So many young people. So many dreams. So many lives. So many deaths. What a tragedy.
Initially, I tried to avoid reading about it, but with an anguished heart I searched for more news, I wanted to see the face and read the names of each of those who passed away. My heart was not filled with selfish curiosity, but with deep sadness. I prayed for them and for their families. I prayed for the city of Chapecó. I cried again.
How many there truly knew the Lord? That was the question that haunted me.
Football, like any other sport and anything else, can become idolatry. However, this is not a time for this kind of reflection. It’s a time to cry with those who cry. It is a moment to think, how many opportunities I have lost throughout my life and I did not share about the love and sacrifice of our beloved Jesus.
My life on this earth can come to an end at any moment. I do not know the day or the hour that I will leave this temporal life. If I live here, let it be to look to Jesus, to love my family, and to cooperate with God’s purpose. All else is waste of time.
May the Lord comfort and bring peace to the hearts of each one that is directly involved and may this tragedy be a reminder of the brevity of my passage on this earth.
Let us persevere.
