[Friday's Devotional] - Inhuman death

We live in a period of growing life expectancy.  Advances in medical care and pharmaceuticals are making great inroads into conquering many of the killer diseases of the past.  Sometimes now the decision has to be made whether it is economically viable to prolong life, and doctors have to make the choice to stop treatment or to determine who will have access to the limited resources and to prioritise one patient over another.  On the other hand there are new threats to the current generation with obesity, substance abuse and other related causes of death are on the increase.

There is debate over the right to die – with cases of assisted death and euthanasia making the headlines as people travel abroad to avoid being prosecuted, and there appear to be frequent attempts to revive the discussion on legalising assisted suicide.

Perhaps we forget who the “author of life” is?  No life is created without the knowledge and influence of our creator God.  Life may be ended by choice (suicide, murder etc.) but it cannot be created by choice (in the laboratory) without the ingredients provided by our creator.

Perhaps also, we make the mistake of thinking of death as the final end – forgetting the reason Jesus came in human form:

But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.  And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation – but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.  For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.  Romans 8: 10-13 [NIV]

Perhaps it is time to re-assess how we think about death?  Are we living according to the flesh or the Spirit?

Lord, help us to be truly alive in the Spirit today.  Give us knowledge and discernment when we consider death.  Comfort those who mourn, and help us to be sensitive towards them.  Amen.

Dave MacLellan