I wish to address an issue that is chronic across many geographical, ethnic and cultural lines: suicide.
The statistics are staggering, tragic and grievous: according to the World Health Organization (WHO) more people die from suicide than from homicide. 30,000 suicides per year in Japan (according to the BBC News World Edition)…29,350 suicides per year in the U.S (according to the National Center for Health Statistics, Year 2000); what has gone so terribly wrong? According to Suicide.com 37 (count them, THIRTY-SEVEN!) suicide attempts occur EVERY HOUR IN THE UNITED STATES! And it’s not just the numbers; 1 suicide per year in the entire Earth would be just as tragic…just as sorrowful.
*Of the three virtues (Faith, Hope and Love) Hope is often considered the least important; but when hope has been completely obliterated from the soul, the consequences are devastating. The mind is swallowed up by a darkness that is palpable and inescapable. Faced with zero self-worth (or worse: self-hatred) and cut off from any kind of relief, the soul is compelled to escape the pain by any means necessary. Death–itself an ominous unknown to most–is mistaken for an escape and refuge from a life too overwhelming and grievous to bear.
And don’t believe for one moment that religious people are exempted from this plague. Far from being restricted to atheists and agnostics, suicide’s dark cloud has hung over esoteric communities of all faiths and beliefs…even being validated as a reasonable course of action by some of these so-called religions. According to the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health (vol. 53, pp. 204-210) female suicide rates do not vary across political or religious borders.
A curse upon every religion that validates the act of taking from our bodies what we ourselves are powerless to give them: LIFE!
Nor does age seem to provide any barrier either; suicide among the youth is horribly prevalent. WHO statistics show that in the 15-34 year-old age group suicide is the first and second cause of death for both sexes in countries with populations that exceed 100 million. According the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suicide among gay and lesbian youth are two to three times more frequent than for their heterosexual peers.
Yet before any attempt is made to solve this perplexing dilemma it should be placed within a greater context: All of us wrestle with a tendency towards self-destruction. In spirit, soul and body we are constantly sacrificing ourselves to the Death Angel…
From eating dead things (meat) to celebrating death as a holiday (Halloween)…
From piercing our bodies to cutting our flesh…
From feeding on dead music to feeding on dead thoughts…
From gorging ourselves on pleasure to gorging ourselves on pain…
From filling our lungs with smoke to filling our bellies with alcohol…
From self-obsession to self-hatred…
From hating ourselves to hating each other…
From stealing from each other to stealing from God…
From destroying our environment to destroying our entire planet…
We are suicidal. The act of killing one’s self is but the final step on a long path of self-defacement and self-destruction. Oh, wretched souls that we are! Who shall deliver us from the body of this death (Romans 7:24)!? Jesus the Anointed One…the Messiah…the Christ–The Creator! Jesus does not have the answer to our obsession with Death; Jesus IS THE ANSWER to our obsession! But we keep Jesus at a distance, at arm’s length; yet one Touch of His Blood upon the human heart, and the process of healing begins IMMEDIATELY! But we must MAKE THE DECISION to trust Jesus! We must place our lives in His Hands! I must LET HIM TOUCH ME!
“Behold I stand at the door [of your heart] and knock; if ANYONE hears My Voice and opens the door I will come in to them and EAT WITH THEM, AND THEY WITH ME.” (Revelation 3:20).
Eat what? The answer is amazing, wonderful, comforting and LIFE CHANGING…
First, Christ EATS WITH YOU. He digests your sorrow, your tears, your grief, your disappointment, your agony, your bitterness…ALL OF IT! That’s what Jesus did on The Cross of Calvary! He bore on His Own Body EVERYTHING THAT MAKES YOUR LIFE A FOUNTAIN OF MISERY! My Friend, Jesus KNOWS what you’re going through EXPERIENTIALLY, because HE WENT THROUGH IT!!! God laid upon Him all of our sins in the TRUEST sense of the word.
Second, YOU EAT WITH CHRIST! Jesus Christ is God; so all the things that God enjoys are now made available to you…the Divine Life, the Joy, the Strength, the Courage, the Faith, the Temperance, the Self-Control, the Kindness, the Gentleness, the Wisdom, the Power, the Glory, the Peace…all are given to you to partake of…WOW!!!
When this happens, you suddenly realize that JESUS IS WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN MISSING YOUR ENTIRE LIFE!!!
It is the Love of God in Christ, received by faith, that destroys the power of sin and death within us and gives us the courage to live.