Faith in Faith

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story (Psalm 107:1, 2a NIV)

Director Tony Scott, famous for his work in movies like "Top Gun" and "Days of Thunder" committed suicide yesterday by jumping off a bridge.

The rich and famous... those we put on pedistals and admire and emulate... seem to lead such tragic lives.  Suicide.  Alcohol and drug abuse.  Divorce after divorce.  So why do we put these folks on pedistals and want to emulate them?  Apparently they are the most unhappy folks in the world.  Would we really trade our relatively happier lives for money and fame?

It's not that we don't have our own troubles.  We have the same kinds of issues in our lives:  health issues, relationship issues, financial issues, job issues.  Yes, and many of the poor and unknown also turn to suicide, alcohol and drugs and other ways of abusing ourselves.

What makes one person keep going on in spite of life's problems and another give up?  I think it is a sense of a bigger plan.  I think it is knowldege that there is rhyme and reason to it all even if we don't know exactly what it is.  I think it is understanding that there is a purpose to our own lives, no matter how difficult they may be.

How empty and alone must one feel to jump of a bridge?  I don't know if Mr. Scott had any kind of religious life or what he believed about what would happen to him after he jumped, but I have to wonder if knowing that God was with him and that God's love endures forever would have changed his actions.

I really don't buy into the idea that evangelism is a tool to save others from going to hell after they die.  I think it is more useful in saving people from the hell that they make for themselves right here on earth.  I think we need to tell others of God's love so they no longer need to feeel so empty and alone that they think the only solution to their problems is to jump off a bridge.  

As I watch the outpouring of love and support for Adam Dancoff after his spinal cord injury, it strengthens my faith in faith.  The support of a community of people who love God and love one another is the most valuable resource in the world.  All the money and fame in the world can't buy that.

Father,
Help us to reach out to even those that seem to have it all.  If they don't have you, they really have nothing.  I pray for the family of Tony Scott and all those who have been touched and affected by suicide.  Amen.

Joys:  Beatiful baptisms yesterday; Cecelia asking if she can have that water on her head too; waiting for Emma