What is the difference between suicide to end suffering and martyrdom?
The short answer
The difference, a major one, is motive. One who takes his own life is centered entirely on himself; one who spends himself preaching the gospel until martyred is centered entirely on Christ.
The difference lies in motive, and it is a major one.
The person who takes his own life is wholly centered on himself. The person who gives himself to preaching the gospel even to martyrdom is wholly centered on Christ. So too is the very sick person in great pain who accepts that pain as his cross. Centering our lives on Christ makes all the difference.
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