JR. Forasteros - October 6, 2013
BOLD Faith
BOLD Faith is choosing to live according to God's character, not based on how our lives turn out. It's faith that God brings life from death, even in the most dire of circumstances.
From Series: "BOLD"
Let's face it: following Jesus in 21st Century America is pretty easy. Choosing to be a faithful picture of God for our friends, families and coworkers doesn't cost us much. But we have brothers and sisters all over the globe who have given up everything for Jesus - their homes, their families, even their lives. What can we learn from their bold faith? How can their stories inspire us to follow Jesus more faithfully? Join us in October and November as we ask, What's keeping me from a BOLD life?
More Messages From JR. Forasteros...
Powered by Series Engine
Last month, news broke that rock singer Chris Cornell had committed suicide in the middle of a Soundgarden tour. The news shook our culture, in part because Mr. Cornell seemed so happy. He had a wife and three children, and by all accounts was happily married. He gave no outward indication that he was struggling with depression.
I wrote a post on Facebook, reacting to the tragedy. The thrust of my post was that if even someone like Chris Cornell can struggle with depression, then if you are struggling too, it doesn’t make you weird or broken or a freak. It makes you pretty normal.
I put a plea at the end of my post – if anyone reading was considering doing something similar, would they please talk to someone first? I told them they could contact me if they wanted.
I didn’t expect what happened next – the post went viral. It was shared over 800 times, and over the next couple of days, I received a handful of private messages from people I’d never met who wanted to know if I was serious that they could reach out to me.
Over the next week or so, I had conversations with several people who were at various stages of considering suicide. Again and again, they said the same things.
“I don’t matter. No one cares about it. No one will miss me.”
I don’t matter.
There’s no point.
This sentiment is becoming more and more widespread in our culture.
It’s nothing new. There’s a story our culture has been telling for at least the last 100 years. We find it in philosophers like Nietzsche, who said “our existence has no meaning.” We find it in writers like H. P. Lovecraft who suggest that if there are gods, they are cruel and distant and couldn’t care less about humanity. We find it in scientists like Neil Degrasse Tyson, who tell us that the universe doesn’t have a purpose, but also suggests that the universe is trying hard to kill us.
It has become more and more difficult for our culture to believe that life has a purpose, that we are more than smart monkeys that are terrified of our own impending death.
Which is why we need to confess God as Creator. To say, “I believe in God the creator” is to announce that we believe life has meaning, that we have a purpose, that every single one of us matters.
