Today is Friday, February 29th, 2008; Karen's Korner #1260
(Happy Leap Year Day!)
"Faith Prints", a book written in part by Steve Swanson and thirteen youth who won the right to be published with Swanson, is a youth devotional for every day of the year.
Each week features one passage from the Bible, Swanson writes one of the day's thoughts. The youth, write the balance of the week. Week 6 features the book of Jonah; Sunday's is written by Swanson, about the topic of suicide. All of our lives have been touched by it: in our families, our communities; and/or when we hear/see such acts on television which include not only the person committing suicide but sometimes taking along several/numerous others with him/her. We are touched, and we don't like it:
"Jonah tried to run away from a problem. He got on a boat and took off. Like almost everyone who runs away, Jonah took the trouble along with him and caused trouble for those around him.
"The ultimate running away is suicide. It has becoma a national epidemic among teenagers. Suicide may seem a lonely and isolated solution to a bunch of lonely and isolated problems--but just talk with family and friends of a suicide victim, even years later, and watch the anguish and guilt that are still oozing out.
"Maybe that's why the Bible comes down so hard on self-destruction, because it's so cruel to others and because it denies the central truth of the Bible: that God loves me and that he gave his Son for me.
"How could I ever consider my life hopeless when Jesus was nailed to the cross to give me hope? How could I ever consider my life friendless when God sent Jesus to be my own personal and special friend?
"So, when life begins to be depressing or hopeless, don't pull a Jonah and run away. Run, rather, into the waiting arms of Jesus. Strangely enough, you will find those arms belong not just to Jesus himself, but to one of his other friends, like a classmate, your pastor, a counselor, your family doctor, your mom or dad.
"Don't run away. In this life we Christians help each other. When your turn comes to need help, run for it, not away from it."
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