I opened up the proverbial can of worms this evening at Crunchy Con. I commented on the Anne Lamott thing, and they let me have it. I was asked the question:
Do *you* know [Jesus]?
Following is my answer in the context of the Anne Lamott euthanasia controversy.
A little more than two years ago, my greatly beloved maternal grandmother died of complications resulting from CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia). We watched her waste away for weeks, the last of which she was under the care of Hospice, so morphine was available for the pain. It was excruciating to watch her suffer. However, it never occurred to any of us to take matters into our own hands and to end her life.
Why not? Because we know Jesus. As Christians, we know that God loves us more than we could possibly love ourselves and that He has a plan and a purpose for our lives. Sometimes His purposes are accomplished through suffering. I don’t understand it, and when I am enduring it, I certainly don’t like it, but because I KNOW Him, I can trust Him. No matter what. Because I trust Him, I can submit to His authority when He says, “Thou shalt not kill.” It’s that simple.
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.
Romans 8:16-18
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6 comments:
I recently read a book that advised 'if we knew everything that God knows, our choices for our lives would be the very same ones that He makes for us'. It's good to remember that we have only a small bit of perspective and although we don't always know why things happen, we can trust that Somebody does. I'm here from the BChicks Carnival.
What scares me about euthanasia is that sometimes the person or the family did not choose it.
That gives me the creeps!
Visiting from the blogging chicks
Wonderful response to a controversial issue!
Thanks for sharing this. Here via the Carnival.
I'm here via the BC Carnival and I'm going to come back sometime when I have more time to "look around."
Interesting thoughts, but I'm not sure the Ten Commandments are absolute—or were even meant to be. If I had to kill someone threatening my daughter in order to save her life, I wouldn't hesitate for a moment. And I don't think those Ten Commandments were written with that expectation of us. Do we Honor Thy Father who is raping us? Do we blindly follow rules and laws without exception, despite the common sense and free will we were given?
I believe that religion gives us the tools to handle all sorts of trials. But it shouldn't give us permission to fall back on it and let others suffer because of a grand plan we can only imagine and don't even understand.
I watched my mother's best friend die an agonizing, painful death by cancer. You can bet that the hospice nurse and my mother did what they could to make the end go more quickly, as that was my mother's friend's wish.
Of course, I don't know Jesus. I am Jewish. And I wouldn't dream of holding all persons on the planet to the customs and traditions and tenets of my religion, nor should others hold me to theirs.
Just another point of view! Take care.
"dogfaceboy" (Your name doesn't appear at all accurate based on your photo! :)--
Thank you for your comments!
I agree with you completely. I doubt I would hesitate to kill someone trying to harm my child, and a father as you described should not be honored. Good points.
For some perspective, you may want to read my post "True Freedom" (7/4/06) on how Christians (should) view "the law" and "legalism." The directive not to kill is not simply a rule to be kept, but it tells us something about the character of God, that He values human life, so we should too.
Please understand, my comments toward Lamott are based on her outspoken claim to be a Christian. I would not hold someone who doesn't claim Christ to the same standard.
Thanks for visiting!
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