"Remembering a Courageous Soul: Honoring the Life of a Man Lost to Tragedy"

I recently conducted a funeral for a man who had been in a railroad accident. He had been trapped in the cab of his engine for three hours with a defective overspeed alarm going full blast. It ruined his hearing and left him with a severe case of tinnitus!

He had to wear earphones to counteract the shrill sound in his ears!

One day, in the grip of depression and pain he took his own life.

He had been a Christian for many years, but Satan stepped in when he was at his weakest time and pushed him to end his life on earth.

His widow came to me in deep sorrow and grief, crying, “Oh, Dr. John, he killed himself and that means he went to Hell!”

I told her that was untrue. His suicide was an abortion of God’s will for his life, which is sin, but when Jesus died, He died to cover our sins…all of them.

Let me give you an example of what I think.

For over 25 years I worked with youth and children’s camp managers. They used many college students as counselors. Being young and inexperienced, they would occasionally “mess up”!

One manager I knew would call the offender into his office, hold him by the shoulders, look directly into his eyes and say, “What in the world were you thinking?” After the explanation was given and the ensuing lesson was complete, he would give the staffer a fatherly hug and say, “It is okay, we are going to fix it! You are forgiven! It’s going to be okay!”

I can envision Jesus doing that with my friend.

Taking him by the shoulders, looking in his eyes and saying, “What in the world were you thinking?”

Then pulling him close and saying, “Son, I died for you and my grace covers all your sins! Come on, You are forgiven and it will be alright!”

Friends, suicide is wrong, no mistake! The collateral damage is horrendous! It creates problems of grief, guilt in family and friends who wonder, “Why, or how, did I miss their signs of depression or their needs. I failed them!”

But the greatest tragedy is their failure to obey God and knowing the joy of completing the purpose for which they were created!

The camp manager in this story died two weeks ago. He was over 80 years old and his body had been frail and ill for several years. As I talked to him just before he died, he said, “John, pray for me. Don’t pray I get well, but that I go to meet Jesus. I have done everything He asked me to do and I am eager to meet Him!

What a way to live!  Oh, and what a way to die!