Tim Challies, an author, pastor and popular Christian blogger is mourning the loss of his son, Nick, who unexpectedly passed away on Tuesday.
“In all the years I’ve been writing I have never had to type words more difficult, more devastating than these: Yesterday the Lord called my son to himself—my dear son, my sweet son, my kind son, my godly son, my only son,” Challies wrote in a blog post.
He explained that Nick had been playing a game with his sister and fiancée “and many other students when he suddenly collapsed, never regaining consciousness.”
“Students, paramedics, and doctors battled valiantly, but could not save him. He’s with the Lord he loved, the Lord he longed to serve. We have no answers to the what or why questions,” he continued.
While Challies and his wife Aileen are deeply devastated by their son’s death, they recognize that they can persevere through it with God, “who knows what it is to lose a Son.”
In closing, Challies is asking Christians to keep him and his family in prayer as they continue mourning together as a family.
“We traveled through the night to get to Louisville so we could be together as a family. And we ask that you remember us in your prayers as we mourn our loss together. We know there will be grueling days and sleepless nights ahead. But for now, even though our minds are bewildered, and our hearts are broken, our hope is fixed and our faith is holding. Our son is home,” he concluded.
According to Faithwire, several noted Christian leaders and thousands of believers on social media have extended their prayers and condolences to Challies.
New York-based pastor, theologian and best-selling author Tim Keller told Challies: “Tim, I’m really sorry to hear this. Our prayers are with your family.”
Tim, I’m really sorry to hear this. Our prayers are with your family.
— Timothy Keller (@timkellernyc) November 4, 2020
“Tim, my heart breaks over this news. Our family is mourning with you. May the peace of God still fill your hearts in the midst of pain,” Pastor Costi Hinn wrote.
Tim, my heart breaks over this news. Our family is mourning with you. May the peace of God still fill your hearts in the midst of pain.
— Costi W. Hinn (@costiwhinn) November 4, 2020
On Wednesday, Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, canceled all-on campus classes for its undergraduate school, Boyce College, where Nick Challies attended as a student.
“Our hearts and prayers are with Nick Challies’ loving parents, Tim and Aileen, his sweet sisters Abigail and Michaela, and his devoted fiancée, Anna Kathryn Conley,” Mohler tweeted.” All on-campus @BoyceCollege classes are canceled today so that students and faculty can minister to one another.”
Our hearts and prayers are with Nick Challies’s loving parents, Tim and Aileen, his sweet sisters Abigail and Michaela, and his devoted fiancée, Anna Kathryn Conley. All on-campus @BoyceCollege classes are cancelled today so that students and faculty can minister to one another.
— Albert Mohler (@albertmohler) November 4, 2020
Tim Challies serves as one of the pastors at Grace Fellowship Church in Ontario, Canada. His blog, Challies, features book reviews, articles from a Christian and theological perspective. He is also the co-founder of Cruciform Press and has authored several books, including Sexual Detox, Do More Better, Visual Theology, and the recently released, Epic: An Around-the-World Journey through Christian History.
In December of 2019, Challies lost his father, who also “had very suddenly and unexpectedly gone to be with the Lord.”
Photo courtesy: Tim Challies Facebook
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer. Visit his blog Blessed Are The Forgiven.
