On Abortion, Euthanasia, and End of Life Measures

Image by Andres Rueda via Flickr

God’s law states, “You shall not kill.” People have made exceptions to this commandment since it was first written by the hand of God; but are these exceptions which humanity has come to accept, in fact, acceptable to God? I don’t claim to know the thoughts of God on these matters, but as one who claims to know God, I’d rather err on the side of caution than to be found guilty of innocent blood on my hands. Over the years I have refused to use certain birth-control measures because they were abortifactant in nature. I have eight wonderful God-given children as proof of my faithfulness in this matter. I stood against my whole family when I found out they intended to take food and water away from my already dying dad, in the name of “comfort measures.” I saw no comfort in starvation on top of the already devastating disease of necrotizing faciitis (flesh eating bacteria). I see no comfort coming from taking “life sustenance” away from aids babies, people who are severely handicapped, or brain damaged, or anyone else that needs food and water.

Now, I do not see anything wrong with taking “extreme measures” away from patients who would otherwise die on their own without them. Artificial respiration, blood pressure regulators, and maybe even antibiotics, or blood might be considered extreme measures for certain patients. But when it comes to basic life sustaining measures such as nutrition and hydration, I personally believe that crosses the line between trusting God for the good of that patient and playing God by taking measures into our own hands. Those who are arrogant enough to think that they know what’s best for a particular patient and proceed to take away any and all hope for that patient to be miraculously healed by God or allowed to gracefully die in God’s good time, seem to me to be crossing a very big gap on very thin ice. I personally couldn’t support my family’s decision to remove food and water from my father, but just as God allows us to choose between good and evil, I didn’t stand in the way of their choosing what I believe was evil. To me there is a clear line between good and evil, black and white, if you will, whenever you pray to God to reveal it to you through God’s Holy Word. God’s Word says that the Spirit of God can even divide the soul and the spirit and discerns between the thoughts and intents of the heart.

When we are faced with hard questions like whether or not to abort a presumably severely disabled baby, even when there is clearly a sound heartbeat, can we not trust God enough to choose when that child should die? Or when we are faced with end of life “comfort measures” can we not trust God’s judgment on when that soul should finally cease to exist and become the spirit God intended for them to be? Must we take these life and death decisions into our own hands and play God? I think not! I believe we can and should trust God on these kinds of decisions and not take on ourselves the unnecessary guilt of the death of the innocent, which we will certainly have to deal with at some time in our lives, or if not, on Judgment day. God is a good God who we can trust with our own lives and with the lives of those we love. We may not understand why God chooses to allow suffering for a time, but if we trust God, the Spirit will help us discern right form wrong, good from evil, black from white.

Suffering seems to be the biggest stumbling block for many people who don’t understand why God allows such evil to exist. God allowed us freedom of will, not desiring forced worship. God wants friends who will serve out of their great love for their Almighty Sovereign God. God desires that we “choose this day whom we will serve” and to “choose life” for ourselves and for our fellow human beings. Certainly, we stumble and make mistakes where these issues are concerned; and God is certainly ready to forgive those who repent of their wrong choices. But for those who continually and repeatedly make these kinds of wrong choices, there is a judgment to face.

Vengeance is Mine Says the Lord (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
Dream of the End Times (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
Contraceptions and Birth Control (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
Sacrifices for Freedom (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
Awake, Children of Light (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
The Effects of Spiritual Maturity on the Physical Aging Process and Choice of End of Life Measures (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
A Prayer to Yahweh God (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
What I am Angry About and What Would Jesus Get Angry About? (gofishministries.wordpress.com)

About mamaheartfilled

I am a mother of eight wonderfully challenging children and fourteen grandkids, of whom I am very proud. I am also a bi-vocational ordained evangelical minister, and a Christian Counselor. I received my B.S. degree in 2004, studying primarily in the areas of Psychology, with minors in Religion and English. I received my Masters Degree in 2009 in Psychological Counseling with an emphasis in Christian Counseling. I have endeavored to paraphrase the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. It is my hope that it will be of some use in the great commission of Christ. My ministry is primarily geared toward victims of sexual and domestic violence, including victims of childhood sexual abuse, whether currently or in the past. Since I have personally experienced the healing hand of God in overcoming many of the life issues that Christians may face, I feel qualified and compelled to discuss them in a truthful and open manner, as God’s word tells us that “We shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free.” God has brought me through such diverse tribulations as sexual, physical, and mental abuse, being a victim of a drunk driving accident, spousal pornography addiction, adultery, divorce, remarriage, a very brief, though unjust, incarceration, and having experienced multiple miscarriages and various other trials. I have been asked to leave two Southern Baptist Churches, due to my being a female, ordained as a minister, and fired from a SBC sponsored Christian School (mostly white) for speaking out against racial prejudice in the Family of God. Through God’s merciful forgiveness of my own sins and inadequacies and God’s grace given to me to forgive those who have been a stumbling block to me, I have overcome many of these adversities. God’s word tells us that “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to the purposes of God." Since I have this hope, I believe that God has blessed me with the ability to confront and relate these issues to the Christian community around the world. I hope to be able to use my personal experiences as a ministry of God’s grace and in the comforting of the people of God with the truth of God's mercy. I claim II Corinthians 1: 3 & 4 as my calling, which states: “Blessed be God, the Origin of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Origin of mercies, and the God of comfort; who comforts us in all our troubles, that we may be able to comfort those who are in trouble, by the comfort we ourselves have been given by God.” As I have received the gift of God’s healing, I hope to be able to bring the peace beyond understanding to others with the message of God’s mercy and grace. My love for the Sovereign Lord of my life, Jesus Christ, along with my passion for writing has drawn me to explore these commonly experienced crisis issues from the perspective of my own experience in the hope that I may bring an empathetic and compassionate insight to God’s people. I am now a published author and have several books in publication, including my autobiography, "A Little Redneck Theology." The views expressed in my writings are strictly my own insights, acquired from personal experience and diligent study of the related topics and God’s word concerning them. Though I am an ordained minister, my views should not be considered authoritative. I believe that the Christian community’s ultimate authority is the guidance of the human heart by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

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