Share Hope

Share Hope

Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:8

While we wait for the blessed hope-- the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Titus 2:13

Yesterday the headlines brought us news of another celebrity dead by his own hand. I found out about it through a text message from my daughter. My response to her was, “How incredibly sad.” It is tragic, truly. Thinking about this man who “had it all,” except, he didn’t. I was reminded of people much nearer to me who have chosen the same end and in particular of my neighbor, ironically named Faith, whose life ended the same way five years ago, just a few days off from this death.

The morning my neighbor died I was sitting in my chair enjoying my quiet time with God when I heard a loud boom. My first thought was gunshot which immediately seemed ridiculous but turned out to be true. Just behind where I was sitting a woman approximately the same age as I, took a gun and ended her life. Why? I do not know. There was plenty of speculation, the same buzz words as are being used for the celebrity, depression, addiction, stress but there was never any real answer.

When I was told that my gunshot assessment was correct I felt sad for Faith and for the husband she left behind. The next morning, back in my chair, with my Bible and my dear Lord the whole thing became very real and very intense. I didn’t know Faith well. This was not a huge personal loss. It wasn’t those emotions that overwhelmed me. It was gratitude. There we were just a privacy fence separating us and as I sat praying and praising, my neighbor put a gun to her head and ended her life. Why her and not me? When the call came on my heart I was blessed with the grace to say yes. Why didn’t she accept that grace and that call? I don’t have an answer for that.

Suicide raises questions we cannot answer, always has, always will but this I believe I can say with a fair amount of authority, there but for the grace of God, go I. No one’s life is stress free. I get aggravated by the slogan, “life is good.” No, it isn’t. Life is hard. It is amazing, wonderful, challenging, full of opportunity but it also involves loss, suffering and pain. Life is hard.

So why do some of us handle it better than others? Again, I cannot answer that in a general sense. I can say for me, it is the presence of God.

For quite awhile now I’ve been seeking God’s grace to care less for the opinion of others and seek only His approval. I’ve got a long way to go but already I feel lighter. In His infinite mercy, God has said yes to that prayer and has begun to change me. It’s fantastic. It’s hard to imagine that our celebrity ever felt that freedom. His life was lived in pursuit of people’s approval. That is as tragic as his death.

Those of us who believe are called to preach salvation. We should, that’s important but we should also offer the hope that accepting the gift of eternal salvation brings to earthly life. I know where I’m going and I know Who is taking me there. I believe that was the biggest difference between my neighbor and me. Hope. The hope of salvation, the promise of eternal life and the love that comes with it. The greatest tragedy, the one that allows and encourages suicide is a lack of that hope. That is incredibly sad.

Here, in this season of giving, perhaps the best gift we can offer to anyone is the truth that this is indeed not all there is. Whether your life is full of love, social engagements and joy or whether you struggle with loneliness, inferiority and sadness, not one of us has to be alone. There is a Savior for all of us. His name is Jesus. He came to save us from the enemy, who far too often is ourselves. If you are experiencing the joy of the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the author of salvation, share that joy with someone else. You may not see it right away but it will make a difference. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8)