I read the news, but only reluctantly. I read it because as a temporary sojourner in this world, I need to seek out God’s Light in the dark and I need to know the terrain I’m treading.  While some  of what is now presented as the news is downright silly, some of it is very  disturbing.

The recent case of  Brittany Maynard is   tragic, but not in the way the media and its arm chair pundits  would like us to think. Her decision to die  by  medical- assisted suicide  in Oregon opens a Pandora’s box of ethical and moral questions, but she is neither the heroine nor the villain  as many want to portray her.  Brittany suffered from something much deeper. One has to question why she or anyone would go viral  with such private matters, but this is the Age of Social Media Blabbing. Nothing is sacred and nothing is secret, even choosing to die. I don’t get it, nor do I want to.

The truth behind this young woman’s death is not about choices or about the “death with dignity” controversy.   The truth is that Brittany chose  suicide because she had no hope to cling to. The painful disease and death she faced overpowered everything and everyone else: new husband, parents, family. She feared dying more than she found hope to go on living. We should all weep for this lost child and for her grieving family.

Nothing is worse than to be beyond hope and to feel the utter futility of life on our own. And nothing is greater than finding hope in the darkness when God’s compassion and mercy pours out over the hopeless, wretched soul like a waterfall. The poet Emily Dickinson described hope this way:

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops – at all –

The image of “the thing with feathers” perched in the soul is for me the Holy Spirit singing- without words, never stopping, always crooning about God’s love. He is the believer’s Comforter and the Encourager. The tune is the sweet voice of Jesus calling out to the sick and hopeless:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matt 11:28

Jesus did not say, “Come to Me … except you with the brain tumor or  you with paralysis or you who have dementia.”  His invitation is with open arms  and all inclusive. Everyone come. Find rest.   I will give you living water. Find hope in Me here in the life you have.

Jesus offers the greater hope of eternal life to those who believe on His Name. Christ’s  death and resurrection are the  victory over Satan’s realm of darkness and death. It is the most powerful promise of hope any suffering person could desire.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. … Matt 11:16

In 1.Corinthians, the apostle Paul describes how our mortal bodies will put on immortality. He quotes both Isaiah and Hosea’s prophecies “that death is swallowed up in victory.” Because of Jesus, our only hope, we can declare,   ” O, death, where is your sting? ”

My heart breaks for young people who see only the sting of death ahead of them. They may intellectualize and argue  about their  right to choose to die with dignity, i.e.  commit suicide,   but in the end they are alone, scared and totally deluded.  Their understanding has been clouded. The enemy’s special expertise is the arena  of death and dying and he will never make any death under his control dignified.

There was another young woman who recently passed away. Kaitlyn  also had cancer and had suffered greatly since she was a teen from the cancer. She also was in her twenties and had married very young. But her death was very different from Brittany’s.  There was no media event in Boise.  Instead, there were hours of prayer, praise to God and thanksgiving for her life as loved ones gathered close. Her  entire family and many friends were  with her in  the hospital. She shared her favorite ice cream and even joked with those present. There were tears, of course, as many as were needed.     I am saddened at  her death and grieve for a little while while  with her  parents, but I also know  God’s promises.    Kaitlyn had what the other girl did not. She had hope and that hope sustained her to the end.  Kaitlyn believed Jesus’ promise that life in Him was eternal.  At her passing, Kaitlyn left that hopefulness with  everyone who came to the memorial  service celebrating her life as her family testified to the Gospel of Jesus, even to unbelievers.

I have compassion for the Maynard family. Losing a child  under any circumstance is heart breaking.    We are called to pray, not judge  for only God knows what  transpired  between Him and  Brittany at the last moment.  But this I do know. Without Christ there is no hope for anyone. With Him, we have it all: life worth living now; life eternal with God.  There is no sting of death . There is only victory. Forever and ever.  Amen.

EAG