As you probably already know, I am all for suspending judgment of the individual and leaving that to God -- not that we have a choice for it is His alone to judge and we bring nothing for or against it to the judgment seat. In the end, any who will be saved shall be saved by Christ alone and not by their own merits or lack thereof. Repentance is not the spark of goodness that causes us to love God and opens the door to forgiveness. While we were yet sinners and enemies of God, the Lord died for us and for all manner of men. But is it really comfort to venture past the mercy of God and then try to say something about the state of those who have taken their own lives? If it is not our place to judge, surely it is neither our place to make a statement about what God's mercy has or has not done.
Let me say that I have buried many suicides in my ministry. Though I might be wrong, I think most of them were running from something else than to death. That is probably always the case. It is certainly a different thing for a Christian to lose his way and fall into temptation and, in an irrational act with respect to the rest of his life, to take his life at that moment. But we live in perilous times when the world is clamoring for an assisted suicide that offers a painless way to go for those who desire and who wish this honored every bit as much as the choice to live under painful circumstance and amid suffering. Now is not the time to begin pontificating about the suicides being saved. Commend them, all of them, to the mercy of God in Christ. If that mercy is enough for our hope and confidence, it will be enough to carry us through the grief and sorrow over the loss of those whom we love who have ended their lives by suicide. But do not try and overcompensate by suggesting all this fanciful stuff about Judas and every other suicide being saved.
Perhaps we will be surprised by some of those who are saved (as well as those who are not). I am fairly confident, however, that instead of surprise we will enter into perfect joy, consummation, and bliss where such questions and answers about how this one or that can be saved shall no longer bother us at all. If we are not bothered in heaven by the lack of certain experiences here on earth or unmet desires for this earthly joy or that, why would we be bothered by the thought that wow, didn't you take your own life and here you are in the company of the saints?
Judas' end was written into Scripture not as testament to God's mercy but as a warning against despair. After all, Peter also betrayed Jesus and got not even a penny for it (well, he thought he was saving his own life) but on the day of Jesus' resurrection it was to Peter the first news was directed. That was an absolution of sorts. Judas did not get that because there was, at least from our perspective, no moment of regret for his despair or hope in the mercy of God. That is the warning. Not that suicides will burn forever but that despairing of God's mercy will certainly lead you to do something bad. God's forgiveness is bigger than every sin we offer Him. But let us at least offer Him the sin -- offering Him our doubts, fears, worries, concerns, and struggles. He will answer them. That is the lesson of Judas and attempting to speak for God about Judas' eternal outcome will mask that important lesson. Let us offer real hope and that real hope is in the shape of cross and marked with mercy. That is all the hope we need.
1 comment:
Suicidal acts cannot deprive a believer of eternal life simply because the Lord Jesus paid for sins past, present, and future by His sacrificial atonement on the cross. This does not mean suicide is a mere option to escape suffering or an unpleasant life. I think of the men who served in Vietnam with me in the Marine Corps. There were numerous acts of bravery where men exposed themselves to enemy fire and went knowingly and willingly to their own deaths to save the lives of their fellow vets. There were men who jumped onto enemy grenades knowing it was a final act, but they selflessly sacrificed themselves to shield their friends. The bravery of men and women in similar and desperate situations can be considered suicidal acts. When the Twin Towers were on fire during 9/11, people on the top floors chose to jump to their deaths rather than be burned to death as the perilous flames drew near, jumping out of windows in a final and desperate act. I think of those who face incurable illnesses for which there is only a glimmer of help that medical intervention can extend life, and they choose to let death come without resisting it. Also, I think of lost and hurting people, their fragile minds confused by the circumstances of life and feeling helpless, some even Christians, and take their own lives. That the grace of God extends to the emotionally unstable and suicidal is part of God’s promises, and we must think of it that way. The tortured souls who take their own lives through drugs or other means include both saved and lost people. God looks at the heart. It is comforting indeed to know that our righteous Lord will not cast out the repentant sinner who dies by suicide. Soli Deo Gloria
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