I was blessed to be raised by a wonderful Christian mother and I loved the Lord. My childhood was filled with wanting to do those things that would honor and please God. But then my best friend was killed in an automobile accident right before we both would be turning 16 and I was left with an emptiness I had never experienced. I prayed and plodded along but something had changed. At that time, our country was involved in the Vietnam conflict and some of my upperclassman volunteered to serve, and we received word that some had given their lives. I loved my country, so I grabbed hold of that opportunity and joined the service three days after graduating high school. When I came home from my first tour, I called my mom before I went home to visit having already been assigned for a second tour. She communicated to me that some of the people’s attitude in the country had changed and the real heroes were the young people that fled to Canada to escape serving their country. That was totally not true, but the information that the media was putting out and I bought the lie. Even though I did go back, I went back having lost any purpose for my life. I quit believing and quit hoping. That lasted until I was 25 years old and found recovery from over 5 years of alcoholism during which I spent every day just not wanting to wake up the next day.
A few years ago, I wrote the following post.
“The thoughts of suicide; being alone and not caring and not believing should help us understand in a deeper way the consequence of having a relationship with God or not. Not to trivialize the pain associated with the loss of someone who has taken their own life, but physical suicide may only take a few minutes, but spiritual suicide is forever. Many of us have tried to imagine the depth of despair a person has to have to believe there is no hope in clinging to life itself. Now imagine spending eternity in that moment of hopelessness and separation. No pills in the bottle, no alcohol in the bottle, no bullet in the gun, no blade in the knife or in the razor, no gas in the car to make carbon monoxide, no window to jump out of, no cliff to drive or jump off of, no water to drowned in and no rope to hang yourself with. Wanting the pain of separation to be gone but it never will – forever. We know that is the last thing that God would ever want.
That is why Jesus died on the cross. So, everyone can be saved from that consequence. He has provided the way for all humanity to have a loving and eternal relationship with Him. It costs us nothing yet costs Him everything, so we have the freedom and responsibility to choose. We make our own choice of whether we want to live with Him or without Him, but we do not get to choose the eternal consequences of how that choice will play out.
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
We all have one vote. Cast it wisely.”
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