In modern society, talk of suicide is becoming more common. This is not surprising when we consider the difficulty and vexation that fills human life. Job, despite all of his patience, grieved in his sorrow and cursed the day of his birth. When a person cries out to God and cries “I wish you would take my life.”, those around him often feel that they should try and lift his spirits and persuade him that life is really happy–but it’s not. This life is filled with sorrows, especially when we think about its end. Death is no happy ending to look ahead to.
The right response to the unhappiness of this life is found in the examples of the saints. They, too, despaired of finding lasting happiness in this life. Some of them considered suicide. However, they eventually learned the true solution to the unhappiness of this life. When they did, their talk sounded similar to that of suicidal persons. The saint, too, prayed that God would “take his life”–but in a different way, and for a different purpose.
Andrew Remillard plays beautifully this hymn by Francis Havergal in 1874. I recommend you set the playback speed to 0.75 for the proper mood. Enjoy.
