By Mallory Mattingly
Global Vision Bible Church Pastor Greg Locke’s son Evan Roberts Locke tragically died due to an overdose last week.
“Today, words fail us. It’s been a long, hard battle the last few years. In times like this, the sacrifices and the struggles don’t even matter,” Locke wrote on Instagram just hours after his son’s death last Friday. “A few hours ago we received the most earth-shattering news that our 20-year-old son, Evan Roberts Locke, could not be revived after his heart stopped due to an overdose.”
“His struggle was very public,” he continued. “It was used as a warning to many, a punchline to the haters but an overall reminder that even in our deepest pain, the grace of Jesus will sustain us. I’ll address the church family with arrangement details this Sunday. Please respect our privacy. He has 5 heartbroken siblings and a world of people that helped him along his journey.”
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On Monday, Locke shared that his son’s celebration of life would take place today, Wednesday, May 13, at Global Vision Bible Church in Lebanon, Tennessee. Those who previously attended the church were also invited to attend.
Despite the tragedy, Locke still preached at his church on Sunday.
“I don’t know that there is a grief deeper than losing a child,” Locke told his congregation during their worship service. “I’d go stark-raving crazy if I ever lost my wife, but I think there’s a difference in a spouse grief and a child grief.”
During his sermon, he spoke about King David’s relationship with Absalom in 2 Samuel 13-19. The relationship was “fractured after his firstborn son, Amnon, raped Absalom’s sister, Tamar. Absalom became furious with David when he took no action against Amnon. The fracture eventually led to a failed coup by Absalom, which ended with his death,” the Christian Post reported.
Despite their fractured relationship, when Absalom was killed by Joab, David was overwhelmed with grief.
David said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you!”
“It’s made me see the Bible differently just in a few days. I used to be frustrated with King David,” Locke shared on Sunday. “Like every time I’d read the Bible, I’m like, ‘Bro, Absalom was a jerk. He chased you around for years. Try to steal everything you had. For years, y’all had like a discombobulated relationship, David, if you didn’t notice. But when he found out Absalom was dead, none of it mattered. And for three chapters, all he could say was, ‘Oh, Absalom, Absalom, Absalom, Absalom.’”
“So what’s done is done. The devil tried to beat you up with grief, guilt, could have been, should have been, would have been, had I been, God says don’t do it. You did what you could. People choose,” he continued. “Just makes me hate the devil all the more. Makes me want to preach the Bible all the more. Makes me want to reach people all the more and love the broken all the more.”
Please keep Locke and his family in your prayers as they mourn Evan’s death.
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