Christians and Suicide

“No single sin, not even suicide, evicts a person from heaven into hell. One thing does: continual rejection of God’s Spirit. Our friend, we believe, gave up that resistance and accepted the forgiveness of Christ. What sort of momentary weakness, what brief cloud of hopelessness caused her to take her life remains a mystery. But no one can say this: that her final act is unforgivable. Nor any other act by any of us. For Jesus said: all sins will be forgiven the sons of men if they give up resisting the Spirit and look to Jesus for salvation.”

I found this quote this morning and it has answered the question I have been wondering in my head for the past 2 1/2 years.

When I was 16, I lost my father to suicide. As a Christian teenager I always hoped that I would see my father again in Heaven, but I was never sure. It also is not a question easily brought up, I was always scared to ask someone because they might think I am not doing okay.

I read an article the other day that a friend had posted on Facebook about worship. I had left the tab open because I wanted to explore the website later on. This morning I had an hour before classes and turned to the website. I shifted through some articles and finally decided to search by topic. Under Christian Living I saw “suicide.” That one word has haunted my mind day in and out for the past 2 1/2 years. It was an unsettling word, filled with confusion and resent. I almost did not click on it, because I didn’t think it would answer my lingering question.

I finally broke down and clicked on it and it gives a preview of all the sermons and articles related to the topic. 3. There was 3 sermons fully on suicide. The last article had a subtitle that read, “No single sin, not even suicide, evicts a person from heaven into hell.” A rush of relief came upon me and I felt like I didn’t even have to read the article because the question that I’ve been desperately searching for an answer has been resolved. I decided to still click on the article to see how this argument was supported and how they could come to this conclusion, when I could not.

“Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is guilty of eternal sin. (Mark 3:28–29)”

I had just read this passage while writing a paper about sin this weekend. I read the exact passage that solved the question I had been pondering for years, but did not see the truth it held. I’m not sure if there is a further lesson to be learned other than realizing that the Holy Spirit works differently in different people, revealing different truths about God’s Word to each person who reads it. I figured that the answer to my question was located somewhere in the Bible, but now I am relieved and one day I will be able to see my father again. I’m not sure what heaven will be like, but I just want to give him that one hug goodbye that I was never able to give him.