The desire to make a positive change is obviously an understandable reaction in the face of a tragedy: we see the destruction and hurt around us, maybe even destruction and hurt we or our own society has caused, and want to offer anything we can to push back against the darkness.

But as followers of Jesus, we must always be assessing and reassessing how we respond to tragedies: are we responding how Jesus wants us to respond, or are we choosing to go along with how our surrounding peers and society is responding... or even worse:

Are we even thinking through how we are responding to a tragedy at all?

Recently (at least for me), reports of deaths by suicide have been a common occurrence in the news I take in each day: whether it be acquaintances from my local community to celebrities from Hollywood. But as these heart-breaking losses become more widely reported and spread across social media, so does everyone else's responses and reactions.

One of the most common trends from those reacting to these types of tragedies is posting and sharing suicide hotline numbers (and even lists of them). Whether the platform is Facebook, Instagram, or even Snapchat, posting links, captions, and even info-graphics serve as the primary way people respond.

Again: as followers of Jesus, we must asses how we are personally responding to the tragedy that is death by suicide.
Every action and word we take and speak in retaliation against darkness must be put through a "Jesus lens," as we ask ourselves "based on what we know of Jesus through Scripture, is this how He would want us to best respond in this situation?

Largely, when we react and try to spread awareness in the aftermath of a death by suicide, it is typically to comfort others: we don't want anyone we know making the same choice, and we want to open up the conversation for those who may need to seek comfort and healing.

I would argue that the common response (posting hotline numbers across social media) is not God's best when it comes to fighting back against the spiritual and human evil of suicidal thoughts.

I believe Scripture gives us the best idea of how and why to engage in this fight, and it comes from the opening lines of a passage from the Gospel According to Luke, famously known as "The Parable of the Good Samaritan." The scene begins with an expert of the Old Testament Law asking Jesus "what [he must] do to inherit eternal life" (Luke 10:25, NIV).

Now, this line is pivotal: it is important that we remember what is truly being referred to when "Eternal life" is being discussed. "Inheriting" eternal life, sure, means that we get to be a part of God's Kingdom in the New Creation. That is when Jesus returns and unifies Heaven and Earth once and for all, and God fully rules over His creation as His Kingdom. "Inheriting Eternal life" means being an ensured member of God's Kingdom in the future... but also in the here and now!

"Inheriting eternal life" means that we are currently also living as citizens of His Kingdom because we have aligned ourselves with Jesus, the King of God's Kingdom and the one sitting on the throne above God's people. Essentially: we are a part of God's Kingdom now because we have agreed that He is our King and that through His Spirit. He is guiding and leading us in allowing His rule to take place, through spreading and acting with how He defines love and mercy and justice.

But don't be mistaken: all of this weird Kingdom and eternal life stuff has everything to do with fighting against suicide!

See, Jesus answers this question about eternal life (or being a part of God's Kingdom) by saying that it is by loving God and loving our neighbor that we truly live like God (through Jesus) is our King. Jesus then shares a parable, where a man is beaten on the side of the road, in need of help, and the one that truly lives like God is King is the other man who stops to bandage his wounds and take him to a safe place to rest and heal.

And this is what it means to truly respond to darkness: not that we post from afar on social media ways people can seek help, but that we physically meet people in their hurt and in their darkness and sacrifice our own time and resources to bring healing and help.

Sharing suicide hotlines doesn't make you a "Good Samaritan." feeling the compassion to physically act and support others does. (Luke 10:33-34, NLT).

Yes, showing where people can seek additional, professional help is good and welcomed: I would hate to discourage anyone from doing that. However, if that is all we are practically doing to reach out to others and bring God's Light into the darkness... I'm sorry, but that is not God's best.

What is God's best? Making yourself physically available to friends, taking them out for lunch or coffee, and checking in on how their doing, shooting them a brief text asking them if they need prayer for anything (and then actually praying and following up with them), maybe taking them out on a cheap fun day to explore the town or staying indoors with them to hang out and chat. Physically coming alongside to support others out of compassion is how Jesus describes fulfilling God's will and being a member of His Kingdom.

And if that's the Kings will, isn't it obvious that that is what we should strive for? we shouldn't just share a hotline and do the bare minimum that society expects of us when fighting back against suicide, but to do more than fight against something: we need to, as Jesus did, fight for the lives of others, through submitting to them, and loving and serving them.

As Jesus Himself commanded us to do after sharing the parable of the Good Samaritan: Go and do likewise.