The death of Mr. Tim Bosma has been all over social media recently. Often when we hear of atrocities such as the one surrounding Mr. Bosma’s death, we feel compassion for the family of the deceased, but the whole affair seems rather surreal. Mr. Bosma’s death, however, hits closer to home; he was a part of the Dutch Christian Reformed Church community, which many of us are a part of.
The Bosma’s two year old daughter was baptized in 2011. At that time, the members of the church made baptismal vows to care for the child and encourage her to become a woman of faith. Now that the child is fatherless, these vows take on a new meaning. Now the members have the responsibility to support Mrs. Bosma and help her raise her daughter. It is their opportunity to demonstrate what the Body of Christ should look like. Even church members who don’t attend the Bosma’s church have the responsibility to care for this family, though.
Mr. Veenstra, the pastor of Ancaster CRC, where the Bosma family attends, said “We’re the body of Jesus. When one part hurts, we all hurt, and then we take it to the Lord in prayer.” CRC churches all over North America have shown support for the Bosma family. They have held prayer vigils, posted comments of encouragement on the Facebook page dedicated to Mr. Bosma, and agreed to sing ‘In Christ Alone’ at church to show solidarity. It is the duty of fellow Christians to keep the Bosma family in their thoughts and prayers as they deal with this tragedy.
- Lydia Marcus
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