The Father of Compassion and God of All Comfort

 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.  For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ." - 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

My hands are shaking as I write these words.  My hands are shaking because my heart is broken.  However, I cling to God's Word that is right and true, His words found in Psalm 34:18... "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."  When I learned of Luke Letlow's passing, my heart was broken.  My spirit was crushed.  I immediately cried out to God.  I cried out on behalf of Luke's wife and children, his mom and dad and brothers, and his friends.  God hears our cries.  God knows our hearts.  God is the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.  I felt it in that moment, and I continue to feel it now.

I was 21 years old and the student pastor at Start Baptist Church.  My wife and I loved the students whom God allowed us and called us to serve, and it was special because it was my home church in my hometown of Start, Louisiana.  We had some incredible times together in student ministry.  We shared many laughs, many tears, and much more together over quite a few years.  Luke was always a leader.  Luke was a young man who loved people because he loved God.  The love of God flowed through his words and his actions.  I remember the times of going into senior adults' homes and videoing them as they told their stories.  Luke and Bradley would ask questions, and we would all just sit and listen to people pour out their hearts to us.  I remember the lock-ins at the church and the sleepovers at my house.  I remember the summer camps, the Vacation Bible Schools, and the Johnny's Pizza or Pizza Hut on Sunday nights.  I remember the camping and fishing trips.  I remember the senior trip when Marty and I took a few of our guys to Houston; that was an incredible time.  I remember calling him and talking to him about going to Ouachita Christian to coach basketball and teach English.  He was excited for me and my family.  I remember talking about how my Dodgers were better than his Astros year after year.  I remember calling him to congratulate him on his Astros beating my Dodgers in the World Series.  Yes, I remember all of those things.  But more than anything, I remember Luke.  Luke embraced the love of God in his life, and he became a vessel of God's love to everyone, especially me.  Luke, you made a deep and profound impact upon my life.  I thank God for you and for all the times we shared together in this life.  I thank God for the true faith you lived out loud.  Today, I am praying that the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort overwhelm Julia and the children, Mr. Johnny and Mrs. Dianne, Paul, Matt, Bradley, and many more who loved Luke and shared life with him.  Today, I am praying that the hope of Jesus Christ that Luke embraced in this life and is now living fully with Him is the hope we all will cling to and embrace.  Jesus is our hope.  Let's all continue to be vessels of prayer and hope for Luke's family today and in the days ahead, and may God continued to be glorified through His faithful servant.  Amen.