‘Does Jesus really love me?’

Last week, Mr. A asked me, ‘Does Jesus really love me? The voices in my head tell me that he doesn’t.’

He first got in touch with our church a couple of years ago, asking ‘Does the church help suffering people?’ He has schizophrenia and for most of his life has been hearing voices, sometimes telling him to commit murder, sometimes that he is useless, sometimes that there is no hope for him. Readers familiar with mental health issues will know that these voices often feel authoritative and compelling to the sufferer. The medicine he is on wasn’t helping him much and he got in touch with the church because he had been wondering if he is demon-possessed.

I have been meeting with him for two years now, reading the Bible with him, praying for him and offering some counselling. We have become good friends and also chat about poetry, art and music. He is not yet believing, but seems to be limping towards the kingdom. When he asked the above question, we had been looking at John 6. ‘All that the Father gives to me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.’ I assured him that Jesus did love him and encouraged him to come to Jesus, who will never drive him away. May he hear the voice of the Good Shepherd louder than any other!

Though it has lessened a little in recent years, there is still a significant stigma about mental health issues here in Japan. Recent studies have suggested that as many as 80% of mental health sufferers have never sought medical help and many tell stories of being abused, looked down on and driven away. Like many churches across Japan, our church regularly has visitors with mental health problems. Some phone up, some turn up during the week, and some come to Sunday services. Most of them are looking for help, for a kind listener, for friendship and for a place where they feel accepted. We pray that we might be all those things to them, but most of all that each one would come to Christ and find peace with God and eternal hope.