Fighting a private battle

I continue to process the loss of my friend in the ministry to suicide. As the days have slipped by since I first heard the news I have been encouraged to read of the many words of gratitude and love that those who loved him have written in his memory (you can read some of those things here - they will encourage you even if you didn't personally know Thomas Young).

As I was reading the funeral arrangements that were released yesterday on his church's website, the announcement also included a link to a message that John Piper preached back in 1988 at a funeral for a man in his congregation who had also taken his own life. These words have brought me comfort and a little bit of closure and I wanted to share the five major points that Dr. Piper emphasized during that most difficult of circumstances:

1. Saints sometimes feel so bad that they want to die.
2. It is sin to fulfill that desire by taking your own life.
3. The only way sin can be forgiven is in our relationship to Jesus Christ by
faith
4. Saving faith can be so weak that the heart gives way to grievous sin.
5. Therefore let this death not be in vain: let it make us utterly committed to
overcome the weakness of faith that cost him his life.

The depths of the hurt in one's soul that would cause him or her to take their own life escapes my feeble ability to grasp. But I do know that there are men and women all around us who live in despair, some masking it very well and choosing to battle all alone in private. Depression, bipolar disorder, and other mental illnesses can also be prime catalysts for a desire to end it all. Whatever the reason, we all share a responsibility to be in tune as much as we can to those around us as to the state of their minds and hearts.

As the body of Christ we have a unique opportunity daily to minister to those who are broken around us. I am in awe of the hope that I have in Christ yet I am also very aware that there are times when hope can be overcome by despair and sadness. I pray that we would loosen our ties and take off our suit coats so that we could truly see within the lives of those we call brothers and sisters and fight along with them in their battles. I also pray that we would tear down our steeples if that's what it takes to minister to the hearts of the lost around us whose despair is even deeper without the redeeming grace of Jesus.

Forget about peoples' lives being private and giving them space. Nothing is off limits in the body of Christ when it comes to ministering to the very hearts, souls, and minds of those that our God cherishes.