Choices for death and choices for what comes after it .......... Parables 667

January 25, 2000

The “Right to Die Society” announced that someone reversed the technology of a rebreather and invented a device called a “debreather.” This new invention allows someone to orchestrate their own death without help or pain. The debreather bolsters the claim that a suffering person should be allowed to “die with dignity,” assuming that pain and suffering are undignified.

How our values have changed. Remember the old western movies when noble cowboys wanted to die “with their boots on” rather than in bed? They would rather be struck by lightning on the job or shot from their horse by a cattle rustler than get pneumonia and pass on lying in bed.

Today’s values are quite different. Instead of putting the glory of our work at the top of the list, many people consider their priority in life is their own personal comfort.

Wanting comfort is okay but what about the assumption that death is better than pain? Is living with discomfort less dignified than being dead? Is it more important to avoid pain than to live honorable with it?

Perhaps the most danger in the right-to-die philosophy is assuming that physical death is all there is. These people do not seem to realize that death comes in two parts.

The Bible talks about it in graphic terms. Hebrews says that we are “destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” However, the book of Revelation mentions a “second death.” It says that those who die physically will be brought to the throne of God for judgment. Then they will be “thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.”

The next verse alludes to an alternative: “if anyone’s name (is) not found written in the book of life. . . .” It is clear that physical death is not the end. The Bible teaches that everyone will be raised; “some to live and some to be condemned.” Those written in the book of life already have eternal life and will take part in what the Bible calls the “first resurrection.” Revelation 20 explains that “the second death has no power over them.”

The second death is the kicker. But the crucial point is that no one can escape God’s order of things. Those who want to live forever may do so, but it is God who gives eternal life and He offers it to the living. Scripture says, “. . . this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

This is our choice. Those who want to escape suffering in this life may also make that choice, but it is God who decides what happens next. Anyone who ignores their relationship to Him and does not have eternal life from Jesus Christ, will not find peace and comfort in death, no matter how they die or who helps them.

While it is a popular word, hell is not a popular topic. Yet hell has a purpose; it the eternal abode God created for those who choose to ignore Him and would rather live and die without Him.

Pain and suffering are not popular topics either. Although pain is a signal that something is wrong, we would rather not suffer at all. Yet suffering has a purpose too. The Bible calls it a “light and momentary trouble” compared with eternity. Scripture and the experience of Christians point to its value; suffering can draw us closer to God and a comfort we would not otherwise experience.

We cannot deny the horrendous pain that some people endure. However, compare that with the horrors and finality of the second death. Is not suffering for a little in the presence of God far better than suffering for eternity without Him?