Fellowship United Methodist Church

There are times in life when you are completely helpless and that doesn't change just because you are a pastor.  Two days ago I sat with a close friend whose sister was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer.  She and the family had just found out and the doctors wanted to operate immediately.  They took her in for surgery and the news got worse.  The cancer was so widespread that there was essentially nothing they could do.  She will begin chemo as soon as she is physcially able but the prognosis is not good.  As I sat with my friend, there was nothing that I could do.  Yes, I prayed.  Yes I believe in the power of prayer and that God is able to do all things including a miraculous healing.  And God may decided to do just that for my friend's sister.  He told me that he has an assurance and some comfort because of his sisters assurance that everything was gonna be alright, no matter the end result.  But I was powerless to take away his pain.  Powerless to take away his hurt and my heart is broken for him and the rest of the family.

 Then yesterday I got a call about another friend, not quite so close but one I am coming to love and appreciate.  This other friend of mine and his wife found their pre-teenage son in his bedroom dead from an apparent suicide.

The call came from my friend's supervisor who is also a close friend of mine.  When I answered the phone she said, "Help, I don't know what to do."  By God's grace I was able to give her some direction which gave her some comfort.  But, I knew exactly how she felt.  When we got to the house the coroner had already claimed the boy's body and the family and neighbors were in complete shock.  With all the emergency medical issues dealt with, I joined the rest of the coworkers, friends and family in feeling completely helpless.  None of it made sense.  This boy was super intelligent and articulate and had a future filled with potential ahead of him.  There was no suicide note and we may never find out why.  It just doesn't make sense.  And we are all helpless to stop it or change it.

But helplessness does not mean hopelessness.  We have Jesus Christ and in Him, "We have this hope as an achor for the soul, firm and secure" (Heb 6.19).  My first friend's sister has Christ as her Savior and it is in Him that she is able to find assurance and know that everything will be fine, no matter whether she receives a miraculous healing from her cancer, or the ultimate healing through eternal life with God.  I don't know about my other friend's son state of salvation but I do know this, Christ died on the cross to redeem us from all sin, past, present and future, and God's grace is bigger than any sin.  There will be some in our community who say that this boy condemned himself to eternal hell by suicide, but they are wrong.  Scripture proves that they are wrong.  One of the great heroes of the faith, Sampson, took his own life but is also listed with all the faithful of God.  Jesus himself taught that there is only one unforgiveable sin - to continually reject Him and the work of the Holy Spirit which seeks to draw you God.  This young man did not do that.  He was hurting and was certainly of a diminished mental capacity to see suicide as the only alternative.  God's grace is bigger than all that, and he is now in the eternal presence of the greatest love possible.

It just doesn't make sense to me, and my heart is torn in two as I prepare to go and help this family prepare for their son's funeral. I know and understand that I am helpless to help them and the only thing I can possibly offer is the hope that is God.