To me, it’s a social justice issue; that’s why I’m so passionate about hope. In America we’re realizing that we must care for those in need. The church today is especially sensitive about caring for the physical and emotional needs of others. We join or create campaigns to fight against hunger, famine, or sickness, for instance. It is good that we are doing these things.
As I write this, many are attempting to end their lives. Many feel that they are worthless, nobody cares, and nothing can go right. So they make the choice; rather, the choice makes them.
All the while, we have an answer.
One person is standing up for us. Even though death tried to take him away from us, he came back. At the end of his battle with death, only Jesus was left standing. And he remains standing for us. Nothing can cause him to sit, quit, or die on us; he remains standing for us.
That’s why the resurrection of Jesus (that moment when he beat death on death’s own terms) is the strongest source of hope that we could ever have. We can never say that nothing is going right in our lives, so long as Jesus has beaten death. We can never say that nobody believes in us, so long as Jesus is standing up for us. We can never say that life will not turn out well, so long as Jesus stands, showing us that it all ends in life and glory, rather than death and condemnation.
One million people will commit suicide this year. That’s one million people that probably do not know that one man is standing up for them. And for every suicide there are 15 more attempts; that’s about 15 million people who are searching for one good reason to go on. September is Suicide Awareness month.
Here’s my video:
