Valentine’s Day is historically considered to be a day of love. However, then we read the latest news and take into consideration the recent suicides of not just one — not even two — but six promising young men in our community, we need to ask ourselves why.
What life experiences led them to take their own lives?
What degree of hopelessness and pain were they experiencing that made them unwilling to go on living, though in the prime of life? Could it be the hopelessness of trying to live life without God?
I can almost hear the angry outcry and objections from those who choose to live godless lives; those who reject God as our creator, the all-knowing one who can provide healing for our wounds and lead us to fulfillment in life.
Perhaps we’re so afraid of being judged and thwarted in our selfish aims and purposes that we’re missing it; missing the fact that God the father ultimately wants what is best for us and proved it through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection.
God did not send his son into the world because humans begged or offered attractive incentives for him to do so. He sent his son because of grace: He cared for people when they totally did not deserve it. Out of grace came forgiveness. God’s grace keeps on giving to the undeserving so any “whosoevers who will” may become God’s beloved children, delivered when this life ends from the destiny of eternal suffering guaranteed for the devil and all who choose to follow him.
God is love — which means it was his idea in the first place. According to God’s plan we are created to love and be loved. The commandments of God we’ve become so adept at breaking or ignoring, begin with the injunction to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart” and continue with the admonition to “Love our neighbours as ourselves,” which is completely contrary to the dog-eat-dog society our current lifestyles perpetuate!
What are we ultimately gaining? While we selfishly play the game of one-upmanship, and get all you can, our families are crumbling and the planet with live on is slowly but surely being destroyed.
People need God because they need love and he is the source of true love. Loving God and receiving his love in turn frees us to love others.
What causes people to commit suicide?
I believe it’s not about alcohol, sex, drugs, money, or material possessions. It’s about not feeling loved and not being able to love. People need God because they need his love. Receiving his love empowers us to give and receive love, and live in the hope it provides.
Jeannette McKenzie
Red Deer