CHOOSING TO CHECK OUT

I Was Just Thinking About – CHOOSING TO CHECK OUT.

Life and death must never be viewed as human determination. The Psalmist made two vital points about life and death. First, Psalm 139:13-16 and God’s role in the origin of life: “You formed my inmost being;  You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You,  for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works…My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret…Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.” Second, Psalm 90:10-12 and God’s determination of one’s lifespan: “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away…So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Verse 12 in The Message: “Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well!”

There have been a growing number of incidents where one makes a determination that their life is no longer worth living. In the 1990s, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a Pathologist, emerged as a proponent of Euthanasia. He publicly championed a terminal patient’s right to die by physician-assisted suicide. He often stated and quoted: “Dying is not a crime.” He claimed to have assisted at least 130 patients to end their lives. The media portrayed him as Dr. Death. He was ultimately arrested and found guilty of second-degree murder and given a 10 to 25 year prison sentence.

Currently, Euthanasia is available in Canada for people suffering a terminal illness, but a Quebec court has now abolished the near death requirement. By removing the terminal illness requirement, that means you can have euthanasia for physical or psychological suffering, The Euthanasia numbers have been skyrocketing. So as much as we have seen this huge increase in euthanasia, they're only going to be opening the doors more.

In the United States, unassisted suicide is taking place. Within the past six months, ministers of the Gospel have chosen to end their lives. Others who had church affiliations with churches have chosen to end their lives, In a book: The Hardest Sermons You’ll Ever Have To Preach, there is a Chapter titled: Thinking Biblically About The Tragedy of Suicide. The question is: Is Suicide a sin? The answer given is: Yes! The author goes on to say that it is not an unforgivable sin. An additional question asked is: What happens to the person who commits suicide? The answer given is: “If the person is an unbeliever, that person goes to hell. If a person is a believer, that person goes to heaven.”

The broader issue is that regardless of how one’s life has been lived, the family and relatives all conclude that their loved one or friend has gone to heaven. Jesus was very clear in His sermon about heaven – the way and gate is narrow and few find that way and enter that gate. Jesus also added that not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will enter His heaven but only the one(s) who are doing the will of the Father in Heaven. First John 5:12-13 is as clear and simply stated about who will and will not enter God’s heaven: “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”

Prayerfully – Consider these things with me.