I never met him, but I can’t quit thinking about the tragedy of it all. I had followed Jarrid for a few years on social media, had some brief interactions with him online, and was encouraged by his ministry and message. He was a constant advocate for those who struggled with mental health issues and he taught the church a lot about how to welcome and minister to those who suffered from them.
I try to be slow to speak about events like this, especially when they’re so fresh, but I do have a few thoughts:
Sin has a deep-seated presence in our hearts, our minds, and our lives. It infects everything that we are. And there are times when we cooperate with this rogue parasite and that’s when can rightly be called sinners.
But there are other times where sin affects us against our will and without our cooperation. Physical disabilities, infertility, and mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and mental disorders. These are the affects of sin invading where it does not belong and affecting changes on things that were never meant to change. Sin does not care about boundaries and will spread and affect anything it can. In these moments, we aren’t acting as sinners, we are being sinned against. We are sinned against by sin itself. We are victims.
Jarrid Wilson was a man who was victimized by sin. It may look, from our point of view, that sin won. But that point of view does not take into account the biblical reality of the Gospel, which proclaims that Christ died so “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). Jesus used Satan’s own weapon against him. Jesus used death to defeat death.
And now Jarrid has wielded that same weapon. Death and sin did not claim victory over Jarrid, but now, because of Jarrid’s faith in Christ, in this moment he stands victorious over sin and death. He has defeated them, and will inherit a renewed body with a renewed mind that is unaffected by the sorrows that plagued him in this life.
This is the “Anthem of Hope” that Jarrid clung to, and that we can sing for ourselves because of the wonderful mercy and grace of the crucified, risen, victorious King who has given us this song. If you are struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, please reach out to someone. Reach out to me, if you want.
I think I’ll let Jarrid have the final word here:
