I support euthanasia. That sounds heretical for an evangelical, but over the past month spent with my mother-in-law on hospice and as a pastor for 39 years, I am a supporter of euthanasia. I think, in fact, that everyone should experience euthanasia.
I must hasten to add that I do NOT support what our culture means when they use the word. I support the word at its core. The word at its face value rather that what it has become freighted with over the past decades in particular.
The word euthanasia comes from the Greek prefix “eu” which means good. We see it in words like eulogy (eu=good, logos=words. A eulogy is good words about the deceased.), euphemism (eu=good, pheme=praise or flattering speech. A euphemism is a word or phrase that makes something bad sound better than it is.) and eucharist (eu=good, charis=grace. Communion is a good grace from God.)
The second part of euthanasia is “thanatos” which means death. The word euthanasia, stripped of its cultural and philosophical baggage (which one can seldom, if ever, do with words), is a “good death.” I am a supporter of a good death. Where I differ with my culture is on what defines a good death.
Over the years of pastoral ministry it has been my privilege and my burden to be with people during the final stages of their earthly life. Sometimes even the last moments of their life. Some have died a good death. Some have not.
In those years of pastoral ministry I have found that, most often, a good death is the result of a good life. I do not mean an easy life. I mean a good life. A life lived in close fellowship with God who made us and who redeems us through His son, Jesus Christ. The kind of life that is the overflow of the confidence found in Charitie Lees Smith’s song, “The Advocate” (which has become known as “Before the Throne of God Above.”)
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!
People seldom develop that confidence on their deathbed, although it sometimes happens. More commonly this good life which leads to a good death is developed over the course of a lifetime, however long that is. Clayton McDonald knew this truth and openly shared it with his classmates in Atascadero, California. (You can watch the 6-minute documentary here.) What is particularly profound in Clayton’s testimony is his acknowledgement that knowing WHEN he would die helped put his living in perspective.
Not everyone gets an advance notice on the timing of their own death and therefore not everyone gets an opportunity to prepare for their own death. As Sandra Bullock’s character in Gravity, Ryan Stone, says, “We’re all going to die. Everybody knows that. But I’m going to die today.” Since we don't know the timing, it is fitting to live our lives now in such a way that we can pass from a good life to a good death. It is the awareness of the preciousness of life but also the preciousness of the One who is The Life (John 14:6) that leads to a good life AND a good death.
I must hasten to add that I do NOT support what our culture means when they use the word. I support the word at its core. The word at its face value rather that what it has become freighted with over the past decades in particular.
The word euthanasia comes from the Greek prefix “eu” which means good. We see it in words like eulogy (eu=good, logos=words. A eulogy is good words about the deceased.), euphemism (eu=good, pheme=praise or flattering speech. A euphemism is a word or phrase that makes something bad sound better than it is.) and eucharist (eu=good, charis=grace. Communion is a good grace from God.)
The second part of euthanasia is “thanatos” which means death. The word euthanasia, stripped of its cultural and philosophical baggage (which one can seldom, if ever, do with words), is a “good death.” I am a supporter of a good death. Where I differ with my culture is on what defines a good death.
Over the years of pastoral ministry it has been my privilege and my burden to be with people during the final stages of their earthly life. Sometimes even the last moments of their life. Some have died a good death. Some have not.
In those years of pastoral ministry I have found that, most often, a good death is the result of a good life. I do not mean an easy life. I mean a good life. A life lived in close fellowship with God who made us and who redeems us through His son, Jesus Christ. The kind of life that is the overflow of the confidence found in Charitie Lees Smith’s song, “The Advocate” (which has become known as “Before the Throne of God Above.”)
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!
People seldom develop that confidence on their deathbed, although it sometimes happens. More commonly this good life which leads to a good death is developed over the course of a lifetime, however long that is. Clayton McDonald knew this truth and openly shared it with his classmates in Atascadero, California. (You can watch the 6-minute documentary here.) What is particularly profound in Clayton’s testimony is his acknowledgement that knowing WHEN he would die helped put his living in perspective.
Not everyone gets an advance notice on the timing of their own death and therefore not everyone gets an opportunity to prepare for their own death. As Sandra Bullock’s character in Gravity, Ryan Stone, says, “We’re all going to die. Everybody knows that. But I’m going to die today.” Since we don't know the timing, it is fitting to live our lives now in such a way that we can pass from a good life to a good death. It is the awareness of the preciousness of life but also the preciousness of the One who is The Life (John 14:6) that leads to a good life AND a good death.
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