A kid died on campus a few weeks ago. He went to the very top of the Rockhill parking garage, closest to the Einstein’s Bagels where I get my coffee every Tuesday and Thursday, and he jumped off. I can’t imagine what his body would have been like. Arms flailing about, positioning his hands towards the ground as if to catch himself—a natural reaction I would assume. Or maybe he was still, and peaceful and his body floated until it didn't any longer. I call him a kid because everyone is too young to die that way. I didn’t know him, but there is an ache in my heart that wish I did. If I knew him I could tell him how much the Lord loves him. How much He desires His child. I could tell him that things get better, that the loneliness doesn't have to last for ever. I wish my scream could catch him. I could pray for him and listen to him and reveal to him the Man that sits on the throne; the One who is coming back and erasing all that is evil and to establish a Kingdom where all sadness flees and tears are no more. But it’s too late now. He’s gone. And his family and friends are in a time of mourning. Probably beating themselves up believing they could have done better. But it’s not their fault. This tragedy I cannot get out of my head. Maybe its the fact that this death in this “college campus parking garage” style is not new. In fact I could write down a list of all the accounts I have heard this same situation. It's happened at every college I have attended. And that saddens me. This is a thing not worthy of a list. There should be no names, no lives lost, no stilled bodies on the side of parking garages. There is a Love too great and too powerful to just give up.
I remember the time where those massive structures looked glamorous too. They were more than a place to park your car. They were a problem solver. All I needed to do was climb to the top floor where the sky is blue and the skyline of the city was all around. Where it was hushed, peaceful, and one step off that ledge permanently erased all problems. That is what I used to think. But this is false. Problems don't go away. They don't just stop at impact. I weep for those that stopped fighting. For those who got so tired they had leave. Oh the sweet resting inhabitant they left.
The Garden reveals the love God has for His creation. In the cool of the garden the Lord dwelled among His people, pleasantly enjoying the company of their communion with Him. He gave them dominion over all, the holy and righteous freedom to live in the midst of His presence and feast on every tree of the garden, except for that of the knowledge of good and evil. For the Lord said that if they eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they will surely die (Genesis 2:15-17). His goal was to keep them in shamelessness, in a righteous fervent love for their Beloved. I hear often the story of the Fall. So much focus is placed on Adam and Eve entering in sin. Where they broke the covenant, thus giving the serpent entrance into placing a curse over all of the Earth. And all of this is important and true. But what about the Face of God. Oh how His heart must have been grieved to see His own walk away from Him and deny His truth. Because that’s what is was. Adam and Eve’s decision was not just an expression of their free will, but a disbelief in His word, a rebellion against their Maker. The serpent said in Genesis 3:4-5, "You will surely not die for the lord knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened , and you will be like God knowing good and evil." It was the belief that they as the human race could live independent from the Highest of High. Man had taken advantage of the Lord's dominion believing his life was self-sustaining. Oh how dangerous this is. God could have easily destroyed all that He created. He could have killed off Adam and Eve-- He’s the Lord, He can do anything. But instead He kept them; He let them live. Instead, God drove them out of the garden “lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever” (Genesis 3:22). Life belongs in the hands of the Lord, and only His alone. This was not an act of rejection by the Lord that he sent them out, but one of sacrifice. He let man live, He sent Adam and Eve to work and multiply outside the Holy Land they once dwelt in with God so that one day He could sacrifice His son and restore His inheritance back to the Kingdom. His love is the underlying theme since the beginning of time. The Lord has been merciful to keep us. When the land once more turned from the reign of the Lord, God saved Noah’s family line because of his faithfulness (Genesis 6). When Moses, in unholy anger, murdered an Egyptian, the Lord healed and redeemed his soul through forgiveness (Exodus 2:11-12; Exodus 3).
Throughout the storyline of human history, man has consistently turned from the love of the Lord and yet with His gracious mercy He still whispers in the still of night, “oh come home, come back to me young child.” God is violently jealous for His people. He is more than God, more than Lord and King. He is the ultimate Father. He is the Maker who knitted each individual. the triune God in His lovingkindness sat down and dreamt me up and, in the same, the young kid who jumped. And the same for every person who's footsteps walk upon this Earth. Loneliness is not meant for us. Time and time again the Lord has showed His faithfulness to those that call upon His name. He wants His people to return, to look to the heavens and scream, with a broken and contrite spirit, desperation for His company and leadership. I pray that the banner of love will cover every wound across the earth. That no longer will there be bodies falling from garages leaving loud smacks. In every instance where someone does not feel heard, I pray that the Father’s everlasting commitment to His child will be revealed.
My heart goes out to the family, wherever they may be, hoping that they find a peace in the serenity of the Lord’s kindness. Just as He did from the days of old, saving those with His endless mercy, He will do again for each one who call upon His name. Oh how beautiful our God is to beckon us home time and time again. There should be no lifeless at bottom of parking garages, no lives lost in this way. For our God looks down and screams for His beloved to hear Him. I am certain that when that horrific sound is made and that breath ceased to inhale again, grief from Heaven cried out. Let this list not grow bigger. No longer shall men and women not know the love of the Father.
