Dear Samuel,

Lest there is some despair behind this question, I hope you are not considering ending your life. If so, please do talk to someone about your thoughts, even email us back at this web site for help. I pray that our God of all comfort will comfort you in whatever your life situation. Our God is a caring God, who longs to be in relationship with us all through Jesus - you can pray to him and tell him your concerns, he listens and cares for you.

Christians live with a certain hope of heaven where there will be no more suffering or pain, all gathered around the throne of God (Revelation 21-22). But we are not simply to wait until that happens - God has given us a task to do. These are the “good works that God has prepared for us” that Paul talks about in Ephesians 2:10. God saves us not only to be with him in heaven but also to be part of his plans and purposes in saving the world now. We are his agents on earth, working side by side with God himself. Paul even calls himself “God’s fellow worker” in 1 Corinthians 3:9. This is quite a priviledge!!

So in our lives now, until that final time, we are to enjoy and serve the human relationships that God has given to us - both any family we may have, and the relationships with other Christians at church - seeking to encourage one another in love and walking in faith. We are to serve our community with our lives. (see Matthew 22:36-39). We are also to share the good news of life in Jesus with others, so that they too may come into relationship with God and be saved (see Romans 10:14). Alas, much of our modern world is so focused on the individual, that our sense of being part of and serving in a community has been lost - so that many people feel very alone. Our lives now are to be lived in a way that serves God and the people he has put in our community (see 1 Peter 3:15-16).

I hope that you will thank God for the life he has given you, yet know that your full hope a pain-free life won’t be until heaven, since this fallen world will involve suffering, and alas, Christians are not immune from this (eg 1 Peter 4:17 and Philippians 1:29).

May God grant you great joy in growing in your love and knowledge of him.

blessings,