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Jesus Wept

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Our community has been rocked.  Two young people in the past week have committed suicide. Another made an unsuccessful attempt.  Our town is heartbroken and terrified all at the same time.  Tuesday I went to a town hall meeting hosted by our courageous mayor who opened the floor for people who wanted to share.  We heard from professionals.  We heard from parents.  We heard from students.  Some had desperate stories of their own to share.  Others provided hope.  We need it.  In 2014, our county experienced 48 suicides.  In 2013, it was 57.  In 2012, it was 46.  In 2011, 44 people took their own lives.  They represented a wide range of ages and life situations.  Some were people of faith, some were not.  It was clear in listening to speaker after speaker that so many struggle with despair and hopelessness.   

I am a Christian.  As such, when I am faced with the question so many have asked - "Why is this happening?" - I turn to the Bible to find guidance and hope.  In Psalm 8, there are these wonderful words.  "When I look at the heavens, the work of God's fingers, the moon and the stars which He has set in place, who am I that God would be mindful of me?  Yet you have made me a little lower than the angels and crowned me with glory and honor.  You have given me dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under my feet..."  It's an amazing picture.  When I look at creation, it is easy for me to feel small.  When I look at my life's circumstances, it is easy to feel overwhelmed.  When I go through hard times, it is tempting to feel like there's no way out.  That I am too insignificant, too unimportant, too worthless to even be missed.  But then I read that God has made me a little lower than the angels themselves and crowned me with glory and honor.  He has given me dominion - or power and authority - over all he has made.  It is humbling even as it is encouraging.  God gives us the power to choose.  The authority over life and death.  Even our own.     

So many I have talked to asked what they could have done different to save the one they loved.  Sometimes there are signs and we should pay close attention.  When people talk about suicide or seem to be going through a hard time or start giving away important things they value...we need to get them help.  Calling on the resources in our community like the police or school counselors or suicide hotlines are vital!  (See below for those local to our area...)  At other times, there may not be any early warnings.  Suicide can strike down those we least expect.  Those are really, really hard.  Experiencing such tragedies can lead us to be fearful, even terrified.   

But there is hope.  In the book of 1 Corinthians 15:26, the Bible declares, "the last enemy to be destroyed is death itself."  The resurrection of Jesus Christ represents God's great victory over death.  It signals his willingness to embrace death and in so doing, overcome it.  Our God is faithful.  Even unto death.  He is with us in the valley of the shadow of death.  He is with us when we are afraid of death.  He is with us as we face our own death.  Even suicide.  Suicide is not the unforgivable sin.  It in no way separates one from God because our God knows death intimately.  He experienced it.  He defeated it.  So even in those dark moments, when we feel all alone in the world, and we just want to end it so we don't have to face the pain or the anxiety of tomorrow...even there God is with us.  Though we may not see Him.  Though we may not sense Him.  Though He may not stay our hand.  He is there.  He catches us even as we fall.  

That's the faithfulness of Jesus.  I believe this issue is not just mental or emotional.  It is spiritual as well.  We need to take seriously not just the depression or anxiety or other mental conditions that would lead one to think about taking their own life but we must take seriously the state of our souls.  God tells us he loves us.  Made us in his image.  Shaped and formed us in our mother's wombs.  Fearfully and wonderfully created us.  He delights in us.  He calls us his children. And he shows us the depth of his love in that he sent his only Son to die on a cross to take away the emptiness.  To comfort us in our pain.  To give hope to the hopeless.  To defeat sin, evil, and death once and for all.  And his promise - to those who respond to his love - is that he will NEVER leave them or forsake them.   

My heart for my community is that we would not only know this love but that we would share this love.  We would make it our primary, overriding, ultimate goal every single day to make sure those who cross our path know they are loved and treasured and valued.  Simple acts of kindness.  Simple words of affirmation.  A willingness to listen.  Intentionally making yourself available.  Loving others without strings.  That's how we each make a difference.  That's how we each play a part in helping our town face these tragedies and hopefully eliminate future ones.  Will you join me?   

 

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