With the news regarding Robin Williams, several people have talked with me about confusion in relation to lifes purpose; some feel a measure of hopelessness and some have sadness over things not going the way theyd hoped. Being a counselor over the years for literally thousands of people of all ages, Ive seen how messy life can be at different times in a persons life. At the high school, weve had our share of suicides and I will also say how thrilled I am that I have been blessed to be able to have prevented some. Heres something that I can share. Everyone will experience despair at some point and most likely, there will be several points in a persons life. There are a variety of reasons. Some people dont feel loved, even when theyre surrounded by others who do love them. Some are incredibly lonely and think of themselves as alone in the world. There are a host of other negative lenses but these are a couple of primary ones. We are beings that have a purpose and were beings that are physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual. When people neglect these areas, they become out of balance. One would think that the most important dimension is physical, and most of the world would likely agree; but it isnt sustaining. The only one thats truly substantial and sustaining is the spiritual one and thats the one thats most neglected which leads to confusion regarding purpose in life and lifes expectations. There is not one person alive who is 100 percent stable. Only Jesus was. Thus, to put ones happiness in someone elses hands will always lead to disappointment. Robin Williams had reached out a few years ago to a minister and was encouraged to grow spiritually. Perhaps he did. I dont know because there can, in a minority of suicide cases, be an organic component. This is my own opinion based on experience. But that is not the majority of cases in spite of what the media says nor in spite of popular beliefs. Having Parkinsons thrown at him along with some poor choices may have been more than Robin felt he could bear. Suicide is anger turned inward and suicide by hanging is an extreme demonstration and communication of that anger. If his act was not organic, and I emphasize IF, than he lost the sense of his purpose in life and that is a dark place of great despair. So what is our basic purpose in life? Its the same for everyone. Our purpose--the reason we are here--is for Gods glory. In other words, our purpose is to...worship Him, proclaim His greatness, and to accomplish His will, This is what glorifies Him. Therefore, in this we find that God has given us a reason for our existence--a meaning for our existence....when we trust the one who has made us--who works all things after the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1:11), then we are able to live a life of purpose....The right thing to do is to give glory to God because there is no one greater who is worthy of trust, adoration, and worship. (Matt Slick Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry) The revealed glory of God-His energies-penetrates all creation and is the starting point for ...life and hope. (Rev. Dr. George C. Papdemetriou) We can start on our purpose in life with one sure thing, God so loved the world (that includes you and me) that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16 The love from and for God that we experience every day, if we access it through prayer, is sustaining and when we give that love to each other, its nothing short of miraculous.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 00:15:04 +0000