Dying is the point. Whether by one's own deceived hand or by a disease also brought on by the enemy, who seeks to destroy believers, the soul that is saved by faith is a child of God and will be received by Him upon death, no matter what.
Christians have been known to succumb to mental illness and commit suicide. It is tragic. God doesn't judge them for it, as their sins have all been forgiven.
Your judgment is the point, here, and not God's.
Precisely this.
At this point in history, we know that in many instances suicide is the result of some form of mental / psychological illness. We also know--despite the fact that not all acknowledge this--that these illnesses are real and are not the fault of the individuals who have them.
As Christians, I'd say the majority of us would agree that physical illness is the realm of our enemy, Satan. Therefore, mental illness would fall under this category as well. Further, the foundation of Faith is not the mind, but of the heart and soul. Thereby, mental illness is (essentially--not literally, of course) a non visible form of brain cancer. It is not the core of one's being turning from God (sin), but rather an extremely heartbreaking condition which should demand our compassion if we truly claim to strive toward living in Jesus' image.
We can try to treat it, but if one is claimed by it, they are claimed by it. It's not just someone going, "I'm bored. I think I'll die today." ... It is an invisible enemy which has entered the thoughts of an individual and corroded them from the inside out. Sadly the medical knowledge we have regarding mental illness was not available (or at least presented in a way that would be comparatively expressive in today's society) in first century Israel. What we can tell from looking at Jesus' ministry during that time, however, is that not once did Jesus ever blame a single individual for any illness or infirmity that they suffered from / he healed someone from. Not Once. Do you really think that our savior is somehow incapable to recognize what has happened here? I certainly hope not, because that seems impossible.
I won't say any more on that, as I am confident that the Lord knows what is in our hearts and whether they belong to Him even if our minds are troubled with sickness. I will say, however, that when speaking about this topic words must be chosen with great care. For if saying to one "You fool" can incur the fires of Hell (which we can blessedly avoid since we would know we said it and could therefore repent of that sin) how much more dangerous could the results be should our careless words end up being the thing which triggers someone to end their own existence out of despair? Would you ever know? And should you never know, would you be able to repent? (Thoughts? That's actually rather scary, no?) And would that inability to repent be pardonable? It seems far better to choose our words wisely to begin with, leaving the question of who shall inherit heaven and hell in this complex and tragic circumstance to the judgement and wisdom of the Lord, rather than trying to pass that judgement on ourselves.
My humblest apologies if I seem harsh here, but this has such drastic ramifications for all parties involved that I cannot sugar coat what I think about it. I have lost loved ones to mental illness, but just as importantly I know of people struggling with it to this day. The thought of one of them coming across a discussion like this fills me with utter and abject horror. Can you honestly imagine the confusion and despair finding such a topic could bring forth, especially in one who is still searching to find God? I cannot speak for anyone else, but such a use of words isn't something I would want to have associated of me when God is looking at all the things I've done and said someday.
