Old School Teachings

Last week, the little town of Cedarburg was rocked as a young girl, (freshman at the high school), committed suicide by hanging herself on her own bedposts. She was dealing with depression and the usual high school issues and simply made a choice to end her life. The ordeal hit close to home because her family are members at our church and she used to attend our school. What I found most disturbing about the whole ordeal was the way the suicide was dealt with. I talked to many confused and upset students about the situation and they were told, by one person or another, that suicide=eternity in hell. I thought the old school "auto hell judgement" concerning suicide was no longer being preached. How are we to know this girl's heart at the time of her suicide? We can't automatically assume she is in hell. I spent hours offering a bit of God's grace and the hope of eternal life to devastated kids who had been told otherwise.