Webbijbel
Gert-Jan Van Zanten
What about suicide
Suicide is a real
tragedy.
We live in a world that is broken and as a result we come across
those that are living without hope and without joy in their lives,
that stands at the basis of suicide; no hope and no joy.
And these things are a reality for some in this world.
We are living in the kind of society in which you only count when
you can live up to a certain standard. We need to be beautiful, we
need to have reached a level in life, we need to be socially active
etc. If we do not live up to the standards of the world we do not
count. We live in a world that has many problems, many people are
living with emotional problems. When we look into the eyes of folks,
we see despair and unhappiness.
As Christians we have a hope in Christ, He has brought us to the
Father, we have found forgiveness and Christians live lives of hope
and joy. Yet, even for them life is sometimes hard and difficult and
even Christians are sometimes faced with the question: what about
suicide?
What does God think about it.
|
As Christians we have a hope in Christ |
This question is
sometimes asked by Christians that are earnestly seeking an answer
to this very crucial question.
In this article we will try to give a Bible answer to this question.
1. Suicide shows a lack of faith.
When someone commits suicide we can say that it is a lack of faith
in God.
Suicide is committed because people do not see a bright future.
Suicide is committed when people have pain, tears and when
everything is dim.
Faith in God offers hope, joy and salvation. This is the brightest
future one can ever imagine.
When people are converted to God they have been transferred into the
kingdom of His dear Son.
Col 1:13 who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love;
Psalms 23 will tell us about David:
Psa 23:1 Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want.
When God is our shepherd there are no wants. He will supply all that
we need. Yes, Christians will sometimes go through hard times, like
shepherds have to lead the sheep over rough terrain to get to better
places where better rest is offered, so God leads us at times over
rough terrain to get to the best. He is in the lead, He made us and
He knows what is best.
Psa 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside still waters.
Psa 23:3 He restoreth my soul: He guideth me in the paths of
righteousness for his name's sake.
He is the one that leads us and that guides us, and even better then that, he leads and guides us in the paths of righteousness. For the glory of His name.
He makes us to lie down in good places, God has provided all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 1) God has given our souls a better perspective then anyone could ever give us. He saved our soul, He made us drink of the fountain that speaks of eternal life. (John 4)
He gave us the true water, the water from heaven. He made us drink of the heavenly fountains, the fountains that speak of everlasting hope, joy and bliss.
He showed us that this life will soon be over, He showed us that there is going to be a new heaven and a new earth. A new heaven and earth where all the former things will have passed away. (Rev. 21: 1-10)
He leads us now in the paths of righteousness. He leads us in the better ways of life.
Psa 23:4 Yea, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
With Him, even though I would go through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.This is the heart of this Psalm and the heart of our relationship with God. He is the one who gives our life new perspective when we have given ourselves to Him. He fills us with a bright and a living hope for the future, in that relationship we will sometimes go through hard and difficult times (Job) but He will always help us through. Yes, life can be tough, even for the Christians. Early Christians were persecuted, burned on the stake but they would not give in.
Yes, even in our day and age, we will be persecuted, we will be laughed at, we are counted as the scum off the world. (1 Cor. 4: 12, 13) Yet, if God is for us who could be against us? (Rom. 8: 31)
Psa 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup runneth over.
God has prepared for us a table. Bountiness is waiting for us.
Things are running over. He gives us off His best.
God has given us of His Son, He has blessed us with a heavenly
feast. (Eph. 1: 3-14)
God has made our cup to run over.
Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah for ever.
To dwell in His house forever.
There will come a day that Christians will be in the new heaven and
the new earth. Then all the former things will have passed away, all
things will have become new.
What is a better joy and hope to be a Christian?
God gives us all that we need, He made us, He knows what is best for
us.
When a Christian commit suicide he or she does not truly believe in
God, that He will provide and that He will give us all that we need.
He will make sure that He does for us what is good.
With Him we are always victorious.
2. Suicide is murder.
There is an important principle in the Bible that will tell us that we cannot murder.
In Romans 1 vers 29 we read that murder is a work of unrighteousness and that those who commit these things are worthy of death.
When one commits suicide it is taking matters into his or her own hands.
Christians are to be giving matters into Gods hands. With God there is always a way.
God makes the impossible possible.
Mat 19:26 And Jesus looking upon them said to them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
God is the giver of life, we
cannot take it ourselves.
We are not aloud to take our own life, taking our own life is
murder.
We are made in Gods image. We are special. Let us not forget. We are
made in His image, we still bear that image, even though it is
scarred by the ugliness of sin. Mankind is still as a whole His
creation.
But as Christians we have been freed from sin and we have been given
a better hope based upon better promises. We have been given from
His best, He gave His only begotten Son, in whose footsteps we are
to follow and Christ taught that murder is wrong. Murder has always
been wrong with God.
3. Suicide thinks of self and
not of others.
Suicide is in itself an
self-centered act. It does not take into consideration the ones that
are left behind.
When one commits suicide he only thinks of himself. He does not
count the pain that he leaves behind for the ones that stay behind.
This falls short of considering the other the same as we do
ourselves. (Phill. 2: 4)
The heart of Christianity is that we do unto others as we would do
unto ourselves. We would not want to hurt ourselves, so do we want
others, expecially our loved ones, to be left behind with the pain
of one that took his own life?
4. We can
cast all things upon Him.
We will close
with some very timely words. Words from the God of heaven.
1Pe 5:7 casting all your anxiety upon
him, because he careth for you.
As we have seen before, God is the God
of the impossible. The whole of His revelation, His character shows
all just that. He is one that can create the complete world out of
nothing, He can let the sea seperate, He can let the waters stand as
a wall. We could go on for a long time to show His extraordinary
acts that He has done for His people of old. We could recount all
the mighty acts in the days of the early church. It stands that God
is a God of the impossible.
He is the one that loves us. He is the one that can truly care for
us as no one else can.
Psa 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, A
very present help in trouble.
Psa 46:2 Therefore will we not fear, though the earth do
change, And though the mountains be shaken into the heart of the
seas;
Psa 46:3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, Though the
mountains tremble with the swelling thereof.
He will care for you........Would you rest in His mighty arms?............It is the best place to be..........He will provide!!!
