God’s Gift of Life

By Rev. Todd Peperkorn

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10

Between the death of Terri Schiavo and Pope John Paul II, there was an abundance of talk about life and death in the media. One of the common questions beginning to come up was the question of living wills, DNR clauses (do-not-resuscitate), and a general discussion about what kind of life is worth living.

Now at one level, talking about life and death is always healthy, because for the Christian, any time we are talking about life and death, we are talking about Jesus’ life and death. As St. Paul writes, “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3 NKJV). Because of our baptism into Christ, everything that we are is shaped by Jesus’ death and life again.

However, in recent years, partly due to advances in medical technology, the conversation in our culture has taken a new direction. Now it is very popular to speak about the quality of life that a person has or will have based on their physical and mental health, or even their economic and family situation. It is quite common, for example, to hear arguments in favor of euthanasia and abortion that run along the lines of, “Because so-and-so won’t be able to live the kind of life that they would want, it is actually more humane to let them die.” So if someone is on a feeding tube, or is suffering from a painful and debilitating disease, or if a child might live in poverty, then, so the argument goes, it appears only right and appropriate that we let such a person die, because after all, it is what they would want. But is this right?

Before we answer this question, let’s do a quick review of the Fifth Commandment. Take a look at the sidebar and see what I mean. Notice some of the language we find in the commandment. Murder means taking a life that is not yours to take. Do not murder means we are to never hurt or harm another person, but we are to actually help them in every way we can with every physical need.

Now in understanding that, we can start to understand what the danger is about quality of life as an approach to making life and death decisions. Once we start talking about what kind of life is worth living, we have moved ourselves into the realm of God’s judgment. We are, in effect, playing God by determining what kind of life should live and what kind of life should die. This is dangerous business, and can lead to evaluating a life based on economic needs, personal needs, and a whole host of selfish questions that inevitably will come up.

So what this means for us today is that our answer to questions of life and death are both simpler and harder. The question for the Christian is not what quality of life a person has or may have. The question for the Christian is, “Are they alive?” If a person is alive, then we should “help and befriend them in every physical need,” and leave their dying to the Lord of life and death. But if a person is not actually alive, then our obligation is to help and befriend their family. Even this is not always the easiest of questions to answer. Is brain-dead alive? What exactly does it mean? But while these questions may also be hard and painful, that is asking the right question.

Now I realize that this may be an unpopular view to some. Life is not easy. We all live with suffering and hardship in one way or another. But life is a precious gift, a gift that Jesus died in order to give us. We dare not forget that when God gives us such a gift, it is not ours to evaluate and determine whether it is worth receiving. Rather, we pray that we may receive all such gifts, even life itself, with thanksgiving to Him.

O Lord, one whom I love and care about is dying. Yet Your love of him is still greater, for You have redeemed him with the precious blood of Your Son. If it be Your will that he should pass out of this mortal life, receive him to Yourself in glory. If this be his last night on earth, let Your holy angels take him into Your presence, where there is no more pain and suffering and sin, but fullness of joy forevermore. Wash him of all sin, and accept him for Jesus’ sake. Strengthen our faith, and keep us close to You. In Jesus’ name we ask it. Amen. (From the Lutheran Book of Prayer, p. 217)

Rev. Todd Peperkorn is pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He is the executive editor of Higher Things. You can email him at peperkorn@higherthings.org.