The death we whisper……
Dr Karl Menninger said that “suicide is a very complex act,” and so we had better leave the analysis to God.
The suicide figures for Australia are revealing – In 2015, preliminary data showed a total of 3,027 deaths by suicide (12.7 per 100,000), 2,292 males (19.4 per 100,000) and 735 females (6.2 per 100,000).
The Bible does not say a great deal about suicide.
It records the suicides of just 6 men:
Samson – Judges 16:30
Saul and his armour bearer – 1 Samuel 31:4-5
Ahithophel, – 2 Samuel 17:23
Zimri – 1 Kings 16:18, and
Judas – Matthew 27:5
Except for Judas, who “went to his own place” – Acts 1:25, nothing is said about their destiny. Judas went to perdition, not because he committed suicide, but because he did not trust Jesus Christ – John 6:66-71.
The Bible clearly teaches that personal salvation is a completed transaction and that the way a person died cannot rob him or her of eternal life.
The Apostle Paul tells us there is one thing that death can never separate us, and that is the love of God. “For I am persuaded that neither life nor death….can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.
What kind is this, the “love of God?”
It is a love that “seeks” – the Bible tells us we are like sheep. We are prone to wander. “All we like sheep have gone astray.” Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd Who seeks the lost sheep and brings it back to the fold. “My sheep hear my voice,” said Jesus, “…and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish”. Once the Good Shepherd finds us, He never loses us!
God’s love is a love that “saves” – “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” Luke 19:10.
God’s love is a love that “keeps” – Listen to Paul’s amazing words of assurance – “Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
So no matter how difficult the circumstances may be, God’s love is still there.
What people are and what people do cannot separate us from God’s love!
God never turns His back on His children.
God never adjusts His love to their conduct.
His love is an everlasting love, and a love that never changes, a love that keeps us.
Finally, God’s love in Jesus Christ is a love that “unites”.
Death brings physical separation and with that separation comes heartache. We sorrow, but not as those who have no hope. Where there is love, there is always hope!
The Bible teaches us that one day, Jesus Christ will unite His people and there will be a great reunion – Read 1 Thess 4:13-18.
Jesus called heaven, “My Father’s House”. Heaven is a home, and that means love.
Our loved ones cannot return to us but one day we shall go to them.