Hopelessness
Last week, we were tremendously saddened to hear that one of my son’s friends had taken her own life. Although there is much speculation, no one is quite sure the reasons why she chose to do this. One thing is for sure, though; we know she must have been overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness.
Personally, I can’t understand hopelessness. I’ve never experienced it. Sure, I’ve been sad, depressed, discouraged, disappointed and unhappy, but I’ve never felt like I couldn’t overcome those feelings or that things would never get better. My heart hurts for her, her family, and her friends. I simply can’t imagine what she was going through or what her family is feeling right now.
What makes this situation even more heart breaking is, if I’m informed properly, this beautiful, young girl was not a Christian. Some may wonder why this is important. I see many, many posts on her Facebook memorial page about being in Heaven, seeing her again, etc. Some may actually see her again, it’s true. But if they don’t know Christ, as it seems she didn’t, it won’t be in Heaven.
This is a sad, harsh reality to come to terms with, especially when we’re talking about a sweet, loving, and kind girl. Everyone has good things to say about her on her memorial page. But, as a Christian, I believe what the Bible says. Simply being a good person just isn’t enough.
In John 3:3, Jesus says, “Truly I say to you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again.” Jesus continues to explain that being born again isn’t re-entering your mother’s womb. It’s being “born of the spirit.” One can’t be born of the spirit without accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
John 3 goes on to say this: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”
It is certainly not my place to judge, and I’m certainly not doing so. I am stating what the Word of God plainly puts before us. My sincere hope and prayer is that this young girl, at some point in her short life, was given the opportunity to learn the truth about our Savior and accept Him as her own.
Friends, it is so important for us as Christ followers to share the beautiful truth of our Redeemer. I hate to admit to the number of friends and family with whom I haven’t shared this truth… what would happen if they died tomorrow? Clearly, as the Bible states, I would not see them again. Even worse? They wouldn’t be celebrating in Heaven… they would be in a much more devastating place.
Not only does sharing our faith with others give them an opportunity to share in our joy, but it also gives them an opportunity to find a way out of hopelessness. This isn’t to say that Christians can’t experience feeling hopeless. Life can be overwhelming, and as humans, it can be difficult to process everything life throws at us. But I know my God is a God of miracles. He can give hope to the hopeless, health to the sick, love to the broken hearted… He is full of unconditional love, mercy, forgiveness, grace and peace…
Every week I get the opportunity to share this truth with children. My prayer is that I can become as bold as I am with these children with everyone else in my life, and not be afraid of the rejection I might receive because of it. My prayer will be the same for each of my Christian friends. Let’s not let another young person get to such a place in their lives where the feel there is no way out.
