Dear Reader,

Is it right to end my life if I suddenly realize that I have a terminal disease for which there is no cure? Is it right to choose death rather than to suffer intense pin? Is it right to take the life of another who no longer is productive in society, and who is now a burden that must be borne by family and/or community? I wonder what God’s answer would be to questions like those?

We can find principles for questions like the ones above when we look into God’s Word, the Bible. Several overlying principles become apparent as we read the pages of this Holy Book. First, we can recognize that God is a God of life and living, and not a God of death and dying. Second, it is God alone who holds the power of life and death, so ultimately, it is He who gives life or removes it. Third, God values life so highly that He has initiated rules and laws and judgments against those who would take the life of another. (see Exodus 20:13; Matthew 19:18; Romans 13:9) The value that He places on life is even extended to a degree in the animal kingdom, where we are warned to treat animals kindly, and where He sees a sparrow that falls. (Proverbs 12:10; Deuteronomy 22:6-7; Luke 12:6) This is not to say that the lives of animals and humans are equal, I’m just pointing out that life is valuable to God.

This being true, we then recognize that God does not give us the privilege of getting rid of unwanted persons or people groups, nor does He give us the option of choosing death at our own hand, or assisted by others, rather than suffering in painful existence. True, He does permit death to happen when we break the laws of life, but there are eternal consequences to such actions.

Would you like some word of comfort in your pain? I’m glad that the same God who holds the power of life and death in His hands also has said that He would be with us, even in the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4), and that His grace would be sufficient for our every need (I Corinthians 12:9). Suffering is a part of physical life, but for the child of God, there is coming a time in Eternity where we will suffer no more.
Thanks for reading,