Rick Warren preached his first sermon the past weekend since his son Matthew committed suicide.
Matthew struggled with mental illness for most of his life and was highly intelligent.
Ricks take on how he is processing grief was fascinating and challenging.
Often at a funeral I have heard someone say, “God needed them in heaven more” or similar sentiment.
This obviously made Rick passionate, almost angry. Other people have said things like, “we remember the good times on earth and this gives us comfort”. This was also something Rick did not resonate with. He made this statement in regard to his son, ” ‘my comfort for my son come not from happy moments on earth, but holy moments he has in heaven”. Rick was also angry that his son had been taken from him because of mental illness and the state the world finds itself in. Our world is not perfect, far from it, and sin has contributed to that. In no way was he calling his son sinful, but his son suffered from the effect sin has had on the world. And in Ricks view his son was stolen from them, after enduring pain and mental anguish on earth.
A very challenging message you can watch online.
Watch Here