It’s a hot NZ topic! Will our govt pass a law allowing euthanasia / assisted dying? It certainly looks like that will be the case soon. Perhaps you, like me, have sat beside a loved one for weeks on end, watching them die painfully and wishing you could end their pain. In those moments, if euthanasia was an option, some of us may just take it. But what about the flip side? Last Sunday I sat with an elderly woman unconscious in hospital for 3 days and not expected to make it through the next 2 days. As I read Scripture and prayed she opened her eyes, drank 250 mls of food and tried to sing. Six days on they are organising discharge to rest home care. If euthanasia was an option the story may have had a very different ending.
The “Truth” is that Jesus IS life (John 1:4), and He came to GIVE life (John 6:33, 35). The First Commandment of God is “You shall have no other gods before me” and that includes the internal god of “self-rights.” Jesus came to give “eternal life” to anyone who accepts Him. As Christians, it is our job to promote life and to trust God to hear our prayers when we struggle. Jesus told doubting Thomas, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” My father gave his heart to the Lord just a few days before he died. If euthanasia had been an option in the 6 weeks previous he would not have been saved. In people’s darkest of pain God is still working to woo them to himself.
Remember, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” (John 8:31-32). So when it comes to euthanasia, study what Scripture says first before you form an opinion, and never stop praying and being there for the sick and oppressed.
About Pastor Julie
I’m passionate about the church – building believers up in their faith, to be all God intended them to be; and I’m passionate about sharing the love and hope of Jesus with people who don’t know Him yet.