For a very long time, I had doubts about whether or not my sister, Jill, made it into heaven because there are at least a few religions who teach that those who commit suicide are condemned. There are several people that told me the same thing. However, after a lot of soul-searching, poll-taking and research, I firmly believe that Jill is indeed in heaven—as are many like her, who took their own lives.

I think I should stop to say that though I am a Christian, I have never been one to thump the bible or preach to other people. I've had others do this to me—and quite frankly, most have "turned me off" to the point of closing my ears to them. I've not yet learned how to share my faith with others in a way that I can be certain won't have a similar, undesired effect. I am slowly learning, though, that this simple act of "sharing" is one of the most important duties I have as someone who believes in God and has been saved. And there is one person in particular that I have been learning a lot from in this area—my grandmother. I will try to explain what she has taught me—and what I now sincerely believe to be true—in the next few paragraphs. I hope I don't lose you as I'm sure I'll have difficulty explaining clearly.

My grandma and my sister were very close. My grandmother has been an exemplary, devout Christian all her life. After my sister's death, Grammie shared with me the many reasons she is absolutely certain that Jill has been rewarded with a new life in Heaven.

I wish I could verbalize all those reasons in a list for you but, at this time, I am not able to recall them clearly. The main idea for you to hold onto, though, would be this:

When Jesus was crucified, he did so to basically cleanse all of us—the human race—of our sins past, present and future (including "original sin" that we are born with, as a result of Adam and Eve's indiscretions). His act of dying was to ensure God's forgiveness of ALL our sins AS LONG AS WE ACCEPT THAT FACT in a conscious manner and then—considering that impact—live our lives in accordance with God's laws. This act of CONSCIOUSLY ACCEPTING our responsibility and Jesus' sacrifice for us is considered being "saved" by God's Grace. So... All we have to do to be saved is to accept these things, be sincerely thankful for them and to live according to God's law. (This is best done by praying deeply and having this very personal conversation with God.)

Once you are saved, you can then be ASSURED that you have a place in heaven. You are assured because you've accepted your responsibility. You've accepted God's forgiveness for breaking His laws (sinning). You've promised to do your best to live according by His laws but He knows you will stumble now and then. He promises to help you back on track as long as you ask for that help with sincerity and humility.

It sounds incredibly simple—too simple, in fact—but it can be very hard to do. We are a very sinful bunch and are easily distracted by all the sensational temptations we're exposed to every moment of our lives. The really incredible thing is that we are forgiven for all of these things, once we're saved. This doesn't mean we can do whatever we want and think it'll go unnoticed. We have to keep our end of the bargain, too, by constantly struggling to maintain a Christian mind, heart and lifestyle.

This forgiveness encompasses everything. Every sin. Including the most severe—like suicide. God does not draw a line and say "This is a sin you won't be forgiven for". Nowhere does He say this.

SO, finally, with this reasoning (and I believe it to be fact), those who take their own lives are forgiven and welcomed into heaven if they have been saved.

I know that there are people who will say, "Of course, you believe this because you desperately want to". It's true. I do want to believe it. But there is enough evidence that I can believe it and feel certain that I'm not mistaken in my faith. And I hope that this helps you to eventually know the same.

If your loved one had accepted Christ as his/her Saviour, in the true sense, then he/she is now in heaven. Be certain of it.

Copyright © 2000 by Julie "Lily B" Remke. All rights reserved.

Author's URL: http://www.angelfire.com/in/LilyNBlue/index.html

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