Fence Post of Faith
Jeff Metcalf
The other day I was cleanup out the basement throwing away some things, and I came across some old pictures of my dad. He has been gone for 20yrs this year. He was 53 when he took his life. Yes it’s that word that no one wants to talk about. The “S” word. It happens, To much in American today. I did some research on Suicide in American, and what I found scared me.
Did you know that every 40 sec, someone commits suicide. And every three seconds, someone attempts to take his or her life. This means that in the short amount of time you spend reading this commentary, four people will commit suicide and more than 50 will have tried. Given the fact that nearly a million people per year end their lives by suicide—in addition to the number of individuals (20 times more than actual suicides) whose attempts are unsuccessful—it is not surprising that the World Health Organization (WHO) now ranks suicide among the three leading causes of death for people ages 15 to 44.
In fact, more people die each year by suicide than by violent crime or war. By 2020, it is estimated that global suicide deaths could rise to 1.5 million each year. Furthermore, higher rates of suicide tend to occur in wealthier countries like the United States with their abundance of luxury goods, shopping malls, cars, homes, etc. the corresponding decline in mental health in the western society (in 2006, the National Institute for mental found the 26% of all Americans are mentally ill). To me that reinforces the concern that the lack of meaning and spiritual fulfillment. The cure for this soul sickness cannot be found in another person. It certainly will not be found in a pill. Or in a bottle. Or at the shopping mall. Clearly, people recognize the need for something deeper and more meaningful in their lives. This hunger is reflected in the increasing popularity of alternative religions, in the success of films and television shows that address larger questions about the meaning of life and in the preponderance of how-to-find happiness self-help books that constantly flood the market. We have forgotten what the ancients knew all to well--that everything has a spiritual aspect. This includes our society. Thus, the true cure will only be found in quenching our human thirst in Jesus. Yes its true.
I don’t know if you have ever found God, but I believe God will find you.
In Psalms 25 verse 4-5 it says Show me your ways, O lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; on you I will wait all day. This is were your suppose to pick up your bible and finish reading Psalms 25. And I want you to do one more thing if you haven’t heard this already. Do a search on the Internet for (Logan, the Sky Angel Cowboy) and listen to this 12 year olds from Nebraska conversation to a radio station in Houston Texas . It may touch your heart, it did my.And here is a early Valentine card from John 3:16
For God so LoVed the world,
That he gAve
His onLy
BegottEn
SoN
That whosoever
Believeth In Him
Should Not Perish,
But have Everlasting Life
In closing I hope I haven’t offended anyone, that Is not my goal in written in Fence Post of Faith, we all have to deal with life and death, we just don’t talk about death. But it’s pain is real to many of us. Life is just the point in between the two. I will be having Easter Cowboy service at Columbia Barrel Bash in March, I hope you can come and celebrate in the Risen Christ, Jesus. And maybe you will let him touch your heart, like he has touch mind.
Adios my friends