matters of life and death

When I was in college taking nursing training, the head of the department told us that we needed to determine our values then.  We needed to know where we stood on ethical issues so that when one came up, we wouldn't have to think about it.  It is a miry, confusing place - medical ethics.

I decided that I am for life.  I don't care about "quality of life"; that's not mine to judge.  I've just determined that everyone needs to be given the opportunity to live.  Life is the breath of God.   God breathed life into us and all humanity has that.  And no matter the quality of life, we each have only one.  I don't think its for us to decide anything about when it ends.   Besides, there's the whole slippery slope deal, but I don't want to talk about that.

It is always difficult for me when someone decides to "pull the plug" on someone.  Even when it looks hopeless.  But I try not to judge because I know that in most cases it's done out of love.  The Terry Shaivo case was a different story, but I don't want to talk about that.

Anyway.  It has been my decision that I won't pull anyone's plug and I do not want mine pulled because many times someone has been declared dead - even brain dead, and still survived.  

On the other hand, you can't keep someone on those machines indefinitely.  

The good news is that God is ultimately in control of life and death.  No matter how big for our britches we get - He is still God.  If it is time for someone to go, all of our interventions aren't going to make any difference.  If He still has a purpose for someone on earth -- if it isn't their time to go, then nothing we do can change that either.

*side note: I saw a story of a man who had shot himself point blank in the head and lived.  Not once, but two or three times.  Its absolutely heartbreaking that he was so desperate to die, but it shows that we don't have as much control over things as we think we do.*

Anyway, please go read this short, amazing story that demonstrates that diagnosing death isn't as cut and dry as we may think - and also the fact that it ain't time until God says its time.

cursed

Have you noticed how hard people have worked to undo the curse?  

I'm talking about The Curse.  The one God put on us and the whole earth when Adam and Eve first sinned.

For the woman the curse was painful childbirth, her desire would be for her husband and her husband would rule over her.

For the man it was that he would have to painfully toil in order to eat.  There would be thorns and thistles and he would eat by the sweat of his brow.  

And of course, death.  We would die.

So what do we have?  Epidurals and all kinds of interventions to provide almost a painless childbirth.  The Women's Liberation Movement telling women they don't need to submit to their husbands.  And I don't know what the desire for her husband means.  That doesn't sound like a bad thing.  But I have heard that it has to do with women wanting to control their husbands.  I also think it could be that so many women think that their husband can meet all of their needs and look to him for more than they should.

Anyway, so then for the men we have air conditioned John Deer tractors with DVD players and who knows what all.  The men who actually work the soil are doing so in grand style. And there is genetic alteration of produce to make it easier to grow and to decrease the labor needed.

And constant attempts to cure death.  People spend their lives fighting death.  But as soon as a cure is found for one thing, something new comes along.  Ever notice that?  

We are cursed.  And there is nothing we can do about it.  The only one who can lift the curse is the one who placed it.  God.  He has overcome death through the resurrection of His Son, but we won't taste fully of that resurrection in these bodies.  Truth is, we still must die.  But there is coming a day when no one will die.  When there will be no more weeds, or sweat, or pain.  The curse is temporary.  But not because of our efforts.

This is just something I think about whenever I hear about scientific attempts to find a cure for something.  I am not against that, by any means.  But it is, in the long run, futile.  There will always be something around that is killing people.  

Rev 22:2-4 says: "On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads."

But until then, all of creation groans, awaiting the day.  Rom. 8:22