Luke 23: 39 - 43 NKJV
I heard something interesting on a christian radio call in show this past weekend. A caller was lamenting the passing of a loved one who had taken her own life. It was the response of the host which surprised me a bit. For even though this woman had taken her own life, if she had indeed known Christ Jesus then she could be assured of a eternity with her Lord and Savior. This threw me for a loop, as I had grown up being told that the very act of taking anothers life can pretty much guarantee someone a one way ticket to hell. Now, I have never even seen a list, if there is one, of those offenses which can warrant a eternity seperated from God. However, I have been told that there indeed are those offenses which are...unforgivable in our Lords eyes. So, where does that leave someone who is so completely lost that they feel their only choice is to take their own life? Is it the same as taking the life of another? Certainly the criminal penalty of taking anothers life far outweighs that of taking ones own life. But how does God see it? Well, on one hand you have the very act of taking away a life shared in Christ Jesus {Galations 2:20}. Also, you have the issue of destroying that which God has created in His own image {Genesis 1:27}. Once we get past the underlying issues of this most desperate of actions, we can better understand the person...and our Lords response. The underlying issue is, of course, is how does Jesus view those among us who are hurting? How has Jesus seen me when I have been at my low points? Well, since He shares each and every experience of my life with me, I can only imagine that He is intimately involved in whatever I am going through. I see the reaction of Jesus to those who were hurting and I get a glimpse of how He would see others who are in pain. One thing Jeus never did was condemn one who was hurting. On the contrary, it was Jesus who gave hope to those who seemingly had none. If we understand that God is merciful to those who need it most, then we can see Him in the form of the man Jesus as He comforts those in need {John 1:18}.
35‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’37“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38‘When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’40“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Matthew 25: 35 - 39 NKJV
I think that we have gotten beyond that point of being more Christ like. We know that it is that Spirit of Christ who lives through us, and that those around us will see His love and compassion as He works through us. Every time we give encouragement to someone who needs it it is Christ through us who is glorified. So, what does this all have to do with one who takes their own life? Can they expect, as the thief who hung on that tree beside Jesus, to be with our Lord in paradise? I would say yes, with one condition. I believe that Christ Jesus is the one and only way to a eternity with our heavenly Father, and that once He is revealed in us our own eternity is secured. There is no alternate way to come into our Lords glory, it doesn't work out that way. There is a real reason that Jesus claimed to be the Way, the Truth and the Life. Because He is. Nobody comes to the Father but through Jesus. Good deeds and holy thoughts only go so far, these are but window dressing. Where is it that your own heart stands in Christ? Is He but a free pass to paradise, or are you now one in God and in Christ? If we are indeed one in Christ, we can be assured that He will never leave us. Are we ever that hopeless once we have Jesus?
9Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11“The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12‘I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13“And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be dhumbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18: 9 - 14 NKJV
~Scott~
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