Dan Marler's Blog: hope

Showing posts with label hope. Show all posts

Monday, April 13, 2026

We can move forward with God, there can still be a future

Monday, May 1, 2023

Overflowing with hope -- Full message

Sunday, October 23, 2022

Freedom from death and decay -- Full message

Thursday, August 19, 2021

Hey Dan, what about suicide?

Over the years I have been asked about suicide a number of times. In particular people are curious about this question: If a person commits suicide does it mean the person is automatically disqualified from heaven and bound for eternity in hell?

To the best of my knowledge the Bible does not offer a direct answer to that question. And I suspect if you posed the question to several Christian theologians it is possible you would get different answers.

It is very fair to say that suicide is not good. It is tremendously painful to the people who loved the person who has committed suicide. It is possible the loved ones may experience extreme guilt and question themselves for years wondering: what could I have done differently? Could I have prevented this from happening if I was more observant, caring, attentive or loving?

Also, the position of the Bible is that we should not take a person’s life. [Exodus 20:13] I believe that command applies not just to others but to our self, as well.

So suicide is not good but that still leaves us with the question: what happens to the person who commits suicide, when it comes to heaven and hell?

Again, I will admit the Bible does not offer a direct answer to the question, however, I am inclined to think: The person who commits suicide does not automatically go to hell.

Here are several thoughts which lead me to this position:

First, any person who commits suicide is clearly experiencing thoughts, pressure, stress, anguish, mental pain, emotional pain, etc., that we probably do not understand. I’m not trying to make excuses I’m just pointing out that the person is in a state in which something extreme is occurring. So what does that mean in terms of their responsibility for their actions? I do not know for sure. We do not know for sure. It involves thoughts, feelings, circumstances which we cannot know with any certainty.

Who does know with certainty? God. Who can bring fair, merciful, honest, gracious, totally informed judgment to the matter? God.

“The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.” Psalm 33:5

Second, the person who commits suicide, on some level, is not thinking properly. So what does that mean in terms of their responsibility for their actions? Once again, as I described in the first point, above, we do not know with any type of certainty. It is impossible for us to know all the details which come to play. This is God’s domain.

I believe He will be able to bring a fair, merciful, honest, gracious, and totally informed judgment to the matter. We can trust Him to be completely just.

Third. What happened, perhaps, even just seconds before the person who committed suicide actually expired? Answer: we do not know. In the Bible there is a man who acknowledges Christ and trusts in Jesus just before he dies. In fact, this man is being crucified on a cross right next to Jesus. You might say this was a last minute conversion. Jesus promises the man that he will be with Him [Jesus] in paradise. [Luke 23:43]

The person who commits suicide, in the final seconds before life ends, might have some type of encounter with Jesus. By the way, I’m not even suggesting this is likely, I’m simply suggesting: 1) it is possible; and 2) we do not know for sure what has happened in the person’s heart and mind in the final moments of life. But the experience of the “thief on the cross” with Jesus gives me hope that a person who commits suicide could have some type of brief but significant connection with Jesus which effects the person’s eternity.

Fourth, the condition of the person’s heart may be different than the hurt, broken, unstable condition of the person’s mind when suicide is involved.

“…The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

And I believe it is possible the person’s heart may still be in relationship to God even though the mind may be damaged. We cannot possibly know the details about a specific person’s heart, but God can. And this gives me hope that even though the person has taken his/her life, the person may still be with God in heaven.

I am aware of the fact that we could ask this question: Is a person who has genuinely experienced salvation in Jesus Christ, capable of an action as drastic as taking their own life?

Answer: I don’t know. But I think it is very likely the answer is yes. Extremely drastic circumstances or experiences can result in extremely drastic actions even for an authentic believer.

Please know, I am not claiming to have theological certainty regarding this question and this is not a matter of being intentionally vague. I believe there are questions for which it is truthful to say: We do not actually know. (Or put it this way, I’ll speak for myself. It is accurate for me to say: I do not actually know.)

And I am aware of the fact that some would disagree with my position. Such a reality is inherent in deep, profound theological questions.

I hope it is true and I, personally, believe it is true—based on my understanding of the Bible—that a person who has committed suicide can still be in heaven with God.

Thursday, July 8, 2021

May God provide abundant hope to your heart

Sometimes people disparage the idea of hope. Their concern is that hope is not sufficiently action oriented.

Hope is valuable, however, because when people lose hope they tend to become apathetic. They give up. The hopeless person feels that any attempt at positive, helpful effort is pointless so why even try?

We need hope. It is part of what motivates effective action.

May our generous God provide abundant hope to your heart.

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Monday, March 29, 2021

If we are willing, there is hope!

There is a poignant scene in the Terminator 2 movie in which John Connor, who is about 10 years old, makes a somber observation about human nature. He is speaking with the Terminator and they are watching two young children play. The behaviors of the children reveal something troublesome about human nature. Their exchange goes like this:

John Connor: [pensive] We’re not gonna’ make it, are we? …People, I mean?

Terminator: It’s in your nature to destroy yourselves.

John Connor: Yeah, major drag, huh?

Sometimes, when I look around and consider the things people do and say, when I think about the positions people are taking on issues and the way we are treating each other, I can almost start to feel like young John Connor. And, believe it or not, I tend to be a fairly optimistic person. (Especially if this post is not the primary factor in making that determination.)

John’s sentiment seems plausible: “We’re not gonna’ make it, are we? …People, I mean?”

Fortunately, my faith in Christ and my acknowledgement of the Bible as an authoritative source of truth, bring me hope. I write the previous sentence sincerely and seriously.

Obviously, I do not know in a specific way how the future will unfold. I do not know how good it will be or how bad it will be.

But I know it is possible to live with hope and not despair.

Please consider this passage:

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed….

“…That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 and 16-18

If we are willing to see it, if we are willing to seek Him, there is hope!

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Living with hope!

For a person who is living without God there is a sense in which life is being lived without hope.

“…You lived in this world without God and without hope.” Ephesians 2:12(b)

Hope involves an expectation or desire for something good and positive which we believe will happen. What is hoped for is in the future and has not happened yet but it is genuinely believed it will occur.

Hope is incredibly encouraging. To live with hope is a wonderful way to live.

When Paul (who wrote the book of Ephesians) talks about being “without God and without hope” he is indicating that life, in an ultimate sense, needs something which transcends the troubles, pressures, disappointments, frustrations, problems, etc., of this world.

Think of it this way: If our brief lives (relatively speaking) in this world are all that exist, despair is more likely than hope.

With God, on the other hand, there is hope. Hope for eternal life. Hope for lives that continue on in actual glory. Hope for ultimate meaning and purpose. Hope for an existence that is better than we can even imagine…and it never ends!

I want to live with authentic hope. I trust that you do, too!

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

The events of 1/6/21...Our hope is in Jesus

Here are a couple of thoughts specifically for my friends who are followers of Jesus (and live in the U.S.).

I love our country. I pray for our country. I want what’s best for our country. I pray for healing and unity in our country. I trust you do, too.

But as I have thought and prayed about the events in Washington D.C. today, I keep thinking about Jesus saying, “My kingdom is not of this world…” John 18:36

I want to stress it is my sincere desire that our country would thrive and be a place of fairness, goodness, liberty, peace, justice and opportunity, however, for followers of Jesus remember that we are citizens of another kingdom. Our ultimate hope is not in the United States.

Again, I love the United States. Please know, I am eager for it to flourish in a way that is beneficial for all. This is not a call to give up on our country. But our ultimate hope is not the United States. And it is certainly not in a political party.

Our ultimate hope is in Christ Jesus.

“…[T]he glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27

If you consider yourself to be a Christian and you look to the United States as your ultimate source of hope, then—respectfully and lovingly—you do not correctly understand what it means to be a Christian.

My dear brothers and sisters, let us be the ones who contribute to what is right, not what is wrong. Light is needed these days, let’s be agents of light.