Straying from church

[9T6]

I took responsibility for all my Sister's sins, confessed them as my own, gave no excuses for why I had done such bad things, told God it was all my fault, took my dead Sister's sins upon myself, asked for forgiveness for my sins, and Jesus forgave me and my Sister.

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This is a strong indication of the great love you have for your sister, and I admire your desire to want to absolve your sister of her sin (we all sin). However, in my opinion there is no need for you to try to take on the sins of others as Christ has already done that and died for it. The bible tells us of that. If we were able to take other people's sins and thereby justify them before God then Christ's death would have been unnecessary and meaningless. As far as I understand it, we are redeemed by faith alone, not by our deeds, nor by the deeds of anyone else acting as substitute on our behalf - no matter how noble and brave the desire might be.

There is only one way to God and that is through Christ, but the ways to Christ are many. Your love for your family and your love and belief in God are what God asks from us and are the basis of Jesus' commands to us Christians. Love is a gift from God and does not die, nor is there any prospect of the promised happiness as long as love is separated. For this reason our prayers for our loved ones, both alive and deceased, are extremely important as they are direct appeals to God's mercy, which he wants to show towards all mankind

They weren't empathizing with me. Not one person asked me how I felt. My favorite one was something someone said to my Mother at my Sister's funeral. "You have to remember this was your daughter's decision." My Mom wasn't very happy with that comment. My Sister killed herself, and the person who said that was a psychopathic predator I used to date. She was getting revenge on me by saying that to my Mother.

I feel great compassion for you and your family, and I see no value whatsoever in the comment that "You have to remember this was your daughter's decision". Suicide is a hard subject for everyone concerned and this kind of comment only rubs salt into an open wound. Rather, what we should remember is that God makes us the way we are, God puts us into this wolrd, and God allows the trouble and stress that in some cases drives people beyond the limit that they can take. Are we supposed to then believe that God will continue to heap even further stress upon such people who take their own lives because they are overwhelmed beyond their capabilities by the nature of this world that God permits?

In my opinion those who commit suicide do not do it as the end result of some kind of rational decision process. When one reaches the point where one simply cannot take any more there are clearly no alternatives left. And if there are no alternatives left there cannot be any decision left to make either.

I obviously do not know the nature or background of your sister's situation and I hope that my comments do not cause you any further upset, but I wanted only to share some other views on the issues you mention here. Do not let my own failings and ignorance cause you any distress.

 

[Just Me Garry]

Well it sounds like you need time to heal over the hurt and any anger that you may feel now.

It is difficult to go to church sometimes when these things happen because people may not really understand what you are feeling but they can demonstrate the love of Christ to you which should be ones Christian duty.

Rom 12:15
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
KJV