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“We need to discuss whether we should
continue with this treatment.” The doctor’s words stun us. He
might as well say, “There isn’t anymore hope.” Have you ever
heard those words concerning yourself or someone you love? Are
you struggling because you made a decision about removing
treatment and still wonder whether or not it was the right one?
If so, you’re in hope!
Hope in Death
You can confront life and death decisions
in hope because of the hope you have in death. Martin Luther
said, “The death of a man is, however, an infinite and eternal
misery and wrath.”1 That doesn’t sound very hopeful,
but it was his prelude to hope! In order to understand the
certain hope Christians have, Luther knew we needed to first
understand the utter hopelessness of our situation. Death is a
constant reminder of the wrath of God we deserve. Death is our
deserved wages of sin (Romans 6:23). Death is our enemy (1
Corinthians 15:26).
But Luther also said, “We should be happy
to be dead and desire to die,” pointing out that death is only
“the narrow gate and the small way to life.”2 Death
as the way to life is possible because of Jesus. He destroyed
death and brought life and immortality (2 Timothy 1:10). Jesus’
death and resurrection give us the certain hope that through
faith in Him we will have eternal life (1 Peter 1:3-5). It is
guaranteed! (2 Corinthians 1:21) It is okay for a Christian to
say with Paul, “I desire to depart and be with Christ which is
better by far” (Philippians 1:23). But in the same breath, Paul
talks of the necessity of staying on in this life. The hope that
we have in death gives us hope in life.
Hope in Life
Is God for Us?
 Sometimes
we forget about that big “if” in the verse, “If God is for us,
who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). The hope God gives in
death addresses that “if” and assures you that God is for you.
“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us
all–how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all
things?” (Romans 8:32). Because God did something about death
and wants you with Him in Heaven someday, you can be assured of
His gracious presence in life. He wants to give you good things.
Jesus said He came to give us life “to the full” (John 10:10).
The Full Life
“Yeah, right! That sure doesn’t describe
my life.” Yes it does! Jesus’ “full life” statement was made in
the context of shepherding. The full life for a sheep wasn’t the
absence of difficulties; it was the presence of the shepherd and
following him to green pastures and quiet waters and through
dark valleys. (Psalm 23)
Hope for the full life for God’s sheep today is not in the
absence of difficulties or difficult decisions. Your hope is in
the presence of the Shepherd. He leads you to good places, and
He leads you through dark places. God in Christ gives a whole
new perspective on living life in hope because of the
perspective He gives as to what makes life full and valuable.
The Valued Life
The world associates the value of life
with quality. Diminish certain qualities–e.g., bodily functions,
mobility, memory–and the world says you diminish in value.
Diminish in value enough and the world says your life isn’t
worth living. Think this way enough and a society begins to
“eliminate” such “burdens.”
God’s perspective is quite different. The value of human life
has everything to do with Him and nothing to do with
“qualities.” Remember, He “did not spare His own Son.” Every
human life is a life purchased by the blood of Jesus. Qualities
may diminish but the value God gives to life never does. The
grandma in the nursing home who must wear a diaper and no longer
remembers her family is just as valuable to God as the grandma
who works in her garden and is president of the Ladies Aid. We
limit the power of God when we think He can work in and through
the second grandma but not the first. We challenge the will of
God when we take charge of when it is time for someone to die.
Because of what He has done in Christ, we can be assured of His
presence even in the darkest of times.
Hope in Life and Death
Decision Making
Some of those darkest times are when you
or a loved one is dying. Because of the effects of sin in this
world, physical death is still our enemy. But he is a defeated
enemy! The hope God gives in His victory over death and the hope
He gives in the living of your life, gives hope when faced with
dying.
Dying can be looked at in two ways. “I am
dying,” someone might say who has just been diagnosed with a
terminal illness. Death seems inevitable but may be months or
more ahead. Dying in a medical sense is when the body begins to
“shut down.” Organs begin to fail. The normal processes of life
are coming to an end. The person may drift in and out of
consciousness. There is no longer a desire for food or water.
Starting and Stopping
Treatments
 A
variety of treatments exist for those with terminal illness
depending on the nature of that illness. Radiation or
chemo-therapy may slow the disease, extend life, and sometimes
even cure or put the disease into remission. Medications may be
taken to control symptoms or to alleviate pain. Although basic
human needs, food and water are often defined as “medical
treatment.”
Can a Christian refuse or stop treatment?
The answer is yes and no! Much depends on the situation. In some
cases, the hope you have in Jesus as the victor over death would
enable you to answer, “Yes.” In other cases, the hope we have in
Jesus as our Shepherd in life would move you to answer, “No.”
Individual circumstances vary widely, and it is not possible or
appropriate to provide a “one-size-fits-all” answer. There are
some commonly held sayings among Christian ethicists that are
helpful in determining our “yes” or “no.” One is from the
Hippocratic Oath, “Always to care, never to kill.” The other is
“We can and should allow the dying to die. We should never
intend for the death of the living.”
There are also some guiding questions that
may be helpful. Is the treatment excessively physically
burdensome to the person and doing more harm than good? Does the
treatment enhance living or prolong dying? Is the intent of
stopping or not starting a treatment to allow the disease to run
its course or is the intent to cause death? Wishing and even
praying that God would bring release through death is not
inappropriate. It reflects the hope we have in Christ’s victory
over death. Intentionally causing the death of someone or
turning to physician-assisted suicide is never appropriate. It
reflects a lack of trust in the hope we have in Christ’s
presence and power in our lives.
Examples of Decisions
Morphine is an effective drug in
controlling severe pain. But it can suppress respiration and
thus hasten or even cause death. In an effort to control pain,
it is not inappropriate for a Christian to discuss increasing
the amount of morphine. Even the knowledge that this may hasten
death does not make this inappropriate. The intent is to relieve
pain, not cause death. You are still trusting in the hope in
death and life that we have in Jesus. However, it would be
inappropriate to say, “Let’s get this over with. Turn up the
morphine.” In this case, the intent is to cause death through
your will rather than trusting in God’s.
On rare occasions, ventilators present
difficult choices. Ventilators are often thought of only as
“extraordinary” means of keeping someone alive. The fact is that
ventilators are used frequently to temporarily assist people in
breathing during surgery or to help the lungs recover from a
disease like pneumonia. Therefore, to state emphatically, “I
never want to be on a ventilator,” may not be in your best
interest. Occasionally, however, a person on a ventilator
reaches the point where the ventilator is no longer part of a
healing process but is artificially prolonging dying. A
Christian may decide to remove a ventilator from a loved one in
such cases. They cling to the hope in death and life we have in
Jesus.
Feeding tubes are small, very flexible
tubes used to deliver food and water directly into a person’s
stomach or intestine when these cannot be taken orally.
Inserting a feeding tube is a minor surgical procedure. Feeding
tubes do not keep someone alive “artificially.” They keep people
alive naturally by providing food and water through artificial
means. The vast majority of people with feeding tubes are not
dying in the medical sense of that word. To remove a feeding
tube from someone who is not dying would be inappropriate as it
would cause their death. When the body begins to die, however,
organs start shutting down and eventually the body is unable to
process food and water. Indeed, continuing nutrition and
hydration at this point may do more harm than good. It is not
inappropriate, therefore, to remove a feeding tube in such
cases.
Did I Make the Right Decision?
 Articles
such as this can sometimes burden people’s consciences. They
look at all the “appropriates” and “inappropriates” and wonder
if a particular decision they made in the past was right or
wrong. That is what is so wonderful about living in the hope
Jesus gives. Jesus’ victory over sin and death give hope,
because it assures you of your tremendous value to Him. Jesus’
promise of His presence in your life gives hope because it
assures you that nothing can ever separate you from His love.
Do you realize you made a wrong decision
in the past? You live in hope! You can be certain of God’s
forgiveness and that your value to Him and His love for you have
not diminished. You may still “feel” guilty for a past decision
even after you have received God’s forgiveness. Remember,
feelings lie. Feelings do not negate the complete cleansing and
guiltlessness you have in Jesus!
Are you not sure if you made the right
decision? You live in hope! As much as we believe in God’s
absolute truth, sometimes the line between right and wrong
decisions on these issues is just hard to determine. Medical
advice may not be conclusive or it may even be conflicting. “Was
my loved one dying? Did I allow them to die or cause them to
die?” Uncertainty over such questions need not burden you. The
certainty of Jesus’ love and the hope He gives in death and in
life upholds you.
Conclusion
The certain and guaranteed hope you have
in Jesus’ victory over death gives you hope in living life! You
can face death with hope because you know it is the door to
life. You can face living and dying with hope because you know
the true source of human worth and dignity. You can face and
make difficult decisions in hope because you know God is present
and at work. Nothing can separate you from His love. Nothing can
diminish your hope in Him. |
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