5 Mar, 2007
Six killed in college bus plunge!
Ohio baseball team was on board when vehicle went off overpass in Atlanta
ATLANTA - A small college in Ohio was thrown into mourning Friday after a bus carrying the school’s baseball team tumbled over the side of a highway overpass and slammed onto the pavement 30 feet below, killing four students and the husband-and-wife drivers.
The team from the close-knit, Mennonite-affiliated Bluffton University was making its annual spring trip to Florida before daybreak when the charter bus crashed, scattering bags of baseball equipment across the road and splattering blood on the overpass. Some of the athletes climbed out the roof escape hatch, dazed and bloody.
“I just looked out and saw the road coming up at me. I remember the catcher tapping me on the head, telling me to get out because there was gas all over,” said A.J. Ramthun, an 18-year-old second baseman from Springfield, Ohio, who was asleep in a window seat and suffered a broken collarbone and cuts on his face from broken glass. “I heard some guys crying, ‘I’m stuck! I’m stuck!”’
Investigators said the driver apparently mistook the exit ramp for a lane and went into the curve at full speed. It was dark at the time, but the weather was clear.
On the 1,150-student campus in Bluffton, about 50 miles south of Toledo, students and community residents — some wiping away tears — filled the gymnasium to grieve and learn more about what happened. When news of the crash appeared on television, students on campus desperately tried to reach some of the athletes on their cell phones.
Sophomore Courtney Minnich said that at a college as small as Bluffton, “even if you didn’t know everybody, it will hurt, because you’ve seen them on campus.”
photo & story courtesy msnbc.msn.com, 03/02/07
John 11:17-37 (NLT)
17 When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. 18 Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, 19 and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. 20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus told her,
24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”
25 Jesus told her,
27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” 28 Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.” 29 So Mary immediately went to him.
30 Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. 31 When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. 32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. 34
They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”
What does today's scripture teach us about how Jesus cares and responds to us?
Jesus comforted his friends in their grief. He felt their pain. He cared for them. He cried with them.
Here's some more insight from Tyndale's LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE:
11:33-37 John stresses that we have a God who cares. When Jesus saw the weeping and wailing, he too wept openly. Perhaps he empathized with their grief, or perhaps he was troubled at their unbelief. In either case, Jesus showed that he cares enough for us to weep with us in our sorrow. This portrait contrasts with the Greek concept of God that was popular in that day - a God with no emotions and no messy involvement with humans. Here we see many of Jesus' emotions - compassion, indignation, sorrow, even frustration. He often expressed deep emotion, and we must never be afraid to reveal our true feelings to him, He understands them for he experienced them. Be honest, and don't try to hide anything from your Savior. He cares.
When I heard the story of the deadly bus accident involving the college baseball team, I immediately thought of today's passage. Jesus cared for his friends when Lazarus died. In the middle of grief, blame, unbelief, sorrow and questions, Jesus loved, cried, and demonstrated his authoritative power.
You may never experience the level of grief and confusion found in today's stories. But Jesus cares for you in the same way He cared for the friends of Lazarus and the way He is caring for those connected to the Bluffton University tragedy.
How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?
- Praise God that He is in control no matter what. Thank Him for His compassion and care. Thank Him for sending Jesus to show us what His love is really like. Thank Him that you can trust Him in times of tragedy and sorrow. Pray right now for the families and friends of those impacted by the Bluffton University accident. Thank Jesus that your identity in Him will never be mistaken. He knows you and cares for you.
- Read the entire story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. You will be reminded of Christ's power and purpose.
- The next time you are driving or riding in a vehicle, let Jesus remind you that life can be brief, but that He cares for you no matter what.
How can we connect today's story, God's Story scripture and our story to others?
- As often as God helps you remember, continue to pray for His comfort upon those affected by the Bluffton University tragedy. Pray also that people will come to follow Jesus as the media will continue to follow this story.
- Bring up today's story in conversation with friends and family who need Jesus. Ask them what the most difficult tragedy or accident is that they have experienced? Listen carefully and trust Jesus to show His care through you.
- May 2008 [8]
- April 2008 [22]
- March 2008 [21]
- February 2008 [19]
- January 2008 [21]
- December 2007 [20]
- November 2007 [19]
- October 2007 [20]
- September 2007 [19]
- August 2007 [20]
- July 2007 [18]
- June 2007 [19]
- May 2007 [18]
- April 2007 [13]
- March 2007 [17]
- February 2007 [14]
- January 2007 [9]
- December 2006 [6]
- November 2006 [15]
- October 2006 [18]
- September 2006 [12]
- August 2006 [17]
- July 2006 [14]
- June 2006 [4]
