Rick and Kay Warren opened up tonight to Piers Morgan (CNN) about the tragic suicide of their son Matthew (27), who struggled with mental illness throughout his life. The video is not yet available online, but a summary article from CNN has been posted. It’s gut-wrenching, but Warren’s message is also one of hope. A few excerpts:
“I have cried every single day since Matthew died,” Warren said.
“If love could have kept my child alive, he’d be alive today, because he was incredibly loved,” the pastor said.
“I never questioned my faith in God; I questioned God’s plan,” Rick Warren said. “God isn’t the blame for my son’s death. My son took his life. It was his choice.”
“One of the hard things was forgiving the person who sold him the gun,” Rick Warren said. “Because I didn’t want to forgive him.”
(Note: The gun was sold to Matthew illegally…Matthew could not legally purchase a gun in CA because he had previously been forcibly admitted to a mental institution.)
But the Warrens said their Christian faith, rooted in the belief that their own sins had been forgiven by Jesus, enabled them to forgive the person who sold the gun to their son.
“I don’t want to be tied to that person emotionally for the rest of my life,” Kay Warren said.
On the rumor that Matthew was gay:
“Well, first, Matthew wasn’t gay, ” Rick Warren said, “but if he was, we would have loved him unconditionally anyway.”
Read the whole thing. I’ll post the video if I find it. Here’s a short clip: