Introduction
To answer questions about the end of life we need borrow a line from Maria in the Sound of Music: “Let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start.” When you look for the beginning, resist the temptation to consult the medical community. As gifted as they are in many respects, none can tell anything about the beginning from medical or scientific investigation. While it is important to know what we believe about when human life begins, we must first go back much farther and determine what we should believe about where human life comes from. The best place to begin that investigation is with the report of an eyewitness who instructed his faithful servant to record the facts for posterity.
To encourage you to follow along, let’s consider just one detail that is of vital importance to the topic of human reproduction. Don’t get nervous, you can really handle what I have to say about that detail. First, see if you can answer this question: out of all the possible combinations of egg and sperm that existed at the moment of conception, why was it the specific one of each that resulted in you, a new human being? Was it simply coincidence? Was it an accident (think carefully before you answer “yes” to that one)? Or was it a carefully designed purposeful scenario that on that day and at that time just happened to produce a result? If a carefully designed scenario, where did the life, not the organism only but the life that made it more than a collection of biological material, where did it come from?
Wait a minute, maybe I missed another possibility. Was it you who decided and orchestrated all that was necessary to make you? But that doesn’t sound right. How could you decide anything before you were? And does that mean what I think it might? It sure seems like there is another entity at work, involved in all of this from the beginning beginning (yes, I know, I mean two words) until the end. And if that is really true, then perhaps this other entity could have an opinion about the beginning and the end and what is in between in a person’s life. You see, before we can responsibly decide how the end of a person’s life should play out, we need to know where that life came from. It is also helpful if we continue our search for help to include answers to questions about what comes after death. Things like what do we do with the body that is no longer being used and what about a memorial service and what about our own mortality.
These may seem like smaller questions in the big scheme of things, ones that only need answers because circumstances make it necessary. I was a high school teacher for a number of years and used a statement often enough my students put it on a poster at the front of the room. Only four words long, the sentence is this: “Things lead to things.” As we will see, these seemingly smaller things lead to much bigger things very quickly. And those bigger things have great relevance for all of life, both before and after death.
The Beginning Beginning
As you may already know, there are two commonly recognized beliefs among people today about origins, where all of what we believe exists came from. From that starting point, each belief has its own way to explain how we all got here from there. There are really only two possibilities for the origin of all things. One is that the raw materials in their most basic form for all that exists have always existed. Matter has no beginning, it is rather eternal. The other belief rests on the principle that it isn’t matter that is eternal but rather an intelligent Being who is eternal. This Being has both the intelligence and the power to make everything we see around us in all the universe.
The belief in eternal matter relies on accepting a nearly infinite series of random events, you could even call them accidents, that according to no particular design and no predefined purpose resulted in the orderly system of things we depend on today. The belief in an eternal Being sets the stage for acknowledging all we see is the result of an intelligent Being who made all things according to purpose and design and rightly has a vested interest in the results of what he made.
Ok, I see that hand up and I think I know what you will say. “But… but… belief in an eternal Being requires faith! Yes, it it does, and it requires faith to understand how everything else came into existence. God’s Word the Bible declares unashamedly, “By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command.” (Hebrews 11:3, NLT) If you believe matter is eternal, that requires faith also. The difference is not the presence of faith or the size of faith but rather the object of faith. And that comes down to the source of authority that you accept.
Your starting place has a huge bearing on how you view everything else including life and the end of life and life after death. It is especially true when you begin searching for the source of life. One view holds that inert non-living matter has existed always and for unknown reasons that cannot be determined or duplicated something that was non-living suddenly became alive. There is no provable explanation for how or why it happened nor is there any purpose directing the outcome. The other view maintains that life itself has existed forever in a living intelligent Being. In the beginning, this Being who already existed began doing things and the result included other living intelligent beings.
I don’t know about you but I believe life is pretty important. Every human being has what is referred to as a will to live that seems to achieve amazing things. Something that common and important ought to have a good explanation that includes where it came from. I can easily understand how a living being can make what is not living. I simply cannot make my mind wrap around the opposite, that life suddenly appeared with no known explanation. With that in view, our quest will proceed from the point of view that an intelligent eternal living Being is the source of all that is.
Life
So what’s the scoop on how life began? We’re talking about living things, plants and animals and birds and fish and people. Maybe we should back up a step and come up with a definition. What is life? Hmm, we can tell when we think something is alive. We can tell when something that used to be alive doesn’t have life anymore. But to define what was there once and now isn’t turns out to be a lot more complicated. In fact, we can use every diagnostic tool available to run a complete analysis on a living thing and then on the same thing when it is no longer living and compare the results. We may be able to identify various processes that once were in operation and are not any more. That helps us describe some of what we expect from a living thing but we’re no closer to a definition of life.
Here’s something else to think about. Human beings have been roaming around our home planet for at least several thousand years. They have accomplished many wonderful things, developing materials and processes that achieve amazing results. We can not only see millions of miles out into the cosmos, we have sent machines beyond the limits of our solar system and communicated with them along their journey. Yet we have not managed to create a new life form yet, not even an organism with only one cell. If we cannot define life, we probably shouldn’t be surprised when we cannot create it. At best we can attempt some tinkering with the design of a living thing yet the results of our tinkering are not inherited by succeeding generations.
So where does that leave us? If life cannot come from non-life (and there is no evidence to indicate it ever could), life must come from someone or something already alive. That principle narrows down the possibilities immensely, really leaving only one rational conclusion – all living things that we can see and touch and examine derived their life from a living being who has always existed. It logically follows that a self-existent eternal being possessed an enormous amount of information since no known process is capable of generating new information. Every process known to us can only rearrange or destroy already existing information. More significant, mutations in living things are always destructive and result in the loss of information.
And so we have arrived at the conclusion that life comes from an eternal intelligent Being who has then given life to all other living things. Which brings us to another consideration. Did this eternal intelligent Being have a purpose in mind for things blessed with the gift of life? It is reasonable to think so.
Purpose
When we take a good look at our surroundings, especially outside the confines of indoor space, the diversity of living things is truly amazing. Scientists believe we have only scratched the surface in an effort to identify all species of all living things here on earth. So far, they have managed to described a few more than two million different species. One conservative estimate puts the total number at about four times that, over eight million distinct species. The truly amazing thing is that the overwhelming majority of them coexist and often in necessarily helpful ways. It appears most are not different simply because they can be but rather have a unique role to play. Some act independently to achieve a particular result, others work together to complete a task. This is true for organisms of only one or a few cells as well as complex creatures with trillions of cells.
The order and purpose displayed by living things lead us to believe they were designed, brought into being and given life according to a comprehensive plan. Every aspect of all the steps from nothing to living being has been designed and implemented according to a purpose. More important, the designer and creator’s purpose continues beyond simple existence. It extends at least for the lifetime of that which is alive and probably beyond. Take a pine cone, for example. Is it’s only purpose to expel many seeds in hopes that at least one will give rise to another tree? Or does the purpose for it include growth, maturing, harvesting, processing, and being used to construct a home for someone? If the designer of the first pine tree had all that in mind, complex rational beings like humans surely have purpose also.
If we conclude the likelihood of all we see being the result of an unimaginably immense number of random accidents is impossible, then it makes sense that a Being with intelligence and purpose would leave some kind of record at least summarizing what he did and why. We do have a record like that, the Bible. It is not terribly difficult to demonstrate how evidence present to our observation is what we would expect to find based on the record.
The Bible tells us on the sixth day of creation God made a man and a woman, the man from the dust of the ground and the woman from a rib from the man. They both had existence but did not have life. It wasn’t until God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” that he had life. So the first man and woman had existence, they had life, and they had an environment previously created that was designed to meet their needs for survival. But even at this point, they had not been given purpose. According to the record, neither life nor purpose were automatically present in man and woman.
They didn’t have to wait long. God quickly filled in the blanks for them and told them to get busy and raise a family – be fruitful (productive) and multiply (procreate). He added more detail later, making them to understand his expectations. Begin by managing the orchard that was their first home and raise helpers who would raise more helpers to manage the earth and make it productive. Yet that wasn’t all he expected of them. God had not finished setting the example for man and woman. The most important thing remained for them to both observe and participate in on the seventh day: rest. It was not the rest of inactivity but rather rest from normal labor in order to worship.
Man and woman were designed with their ultimate purpose in mind, to take their place in the created order, manage it according to God’s intent, and worship him while carrying out their God-given purpose. We know rebellion against God came along quickly and persists until today. However that does not negate God’s design and purpose. In fact, he restated his intent again to later generations so they would know it also.
Authority
You might wonder if God still has authority over all he has made. I mean, his work of creation was done by the end of the week. Then he could just go off to wherever and relax until the next big thing, right? If we need some help with the question we could look for times in the Bible when God offered suggestions to people. You might want to, how would it be if, what do you think about, you know, leaving it up to everyone to choose what they want to do. It is surely how many treat God, as simply an advisor who can be consulted whenever necessary and ignored the rest of the time. And of course there are those who just ignore God all the time.
Let’s think about this. When we make something for ourselves, we retain all the rights of ownership. That means we can do with the item as we wish for as long as we own it. We can use it, repurpose it, even destroy it if we like. Only when we sell or give it to another person do we relinquish our rights to it. Well, that raises a question. Has God ever given up his right of ownership over what he has made? No, never. In fact, the Bible plainly declares the opposite. Psalm 24 verse 1 says, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
If the world and all who live in it belong to the Lord, they he definitely has authority over them. He not only has the right to tell us what he expects of us, he has done exactly that both by precept or law and by example. The Bible is filled with examples of both kinds of behavior, what is acceptable and pleasing to God and also what displeases him. It makes perfect sense that he would do so if he created mankind and gave him life. It also is reasonable to believe that both the giving and the taking of life are under his authority. It is God’s prerogative to delegate authority over life and he has done so to civil government but under strict guidelines. Most importantly God views the unauthorized taking of human life as a personal insult to him because he made man in God’s image.
The examples we find in the Bible cover the range of human experience and in enough detail for us to know how to behave in a way that pleases God. Just one small example is the number of times the phrase “one another” appears in the New Testament. Each of the more than forty times writers use the phrase emphasizes God’s intent that all we do should support and encourage life. Remember, death is a consequence of sin: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” If we are to avoid sin, we should likewise not intentionally engage in what inevitably leads to death.
So where do God and his authority and death all intersect? The psalmist David wrote: “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” If God has the number of our days recorded in his book, trying to change that number is not for us to do. This is very personal yet intentional on God’s part to let us know that every detail of our lives was known to him before he ever created anything. We can surely trust him to not only know what is best according to his purpose for us but also to do it.
Ending
So how should we respond to all the voices that surround us as our end of life here approaches? It is disappointing but not surprising that the majority of influences in our part of the world approach end of life issues the wrong way to. They start with the individual and rarely if ever get to God. We really should begin with what God says and then determine how to best meet his expectations. That includes everything leading up to death, death itself, and what takes place after death.
The conversation usually centers on comfort at the end of life and the desire to avoid pain or help the one dying to avoid it. And that is really what assisted suicide or medical assistance in dying emphasizes, avoiding what is unpleasant both for the individual and their loved ones. Just for a moment, consider the outcome if Jesus thought that was a good idea. We would still be looking for a Savior. We ask the question “how should I live so as to please God?” We should also ask the question “how should I die so as to please God?” And we should be working out the answers well before we get there.
Much has changed over the last two or three centuries. Once upon a time the dying person was at home and surrounded by family and friends until their final breath. There was opportunity for conversation and comfort for all who were present. Most of the time now the person is not at home, often only attended by medical professionals and few if any family members. The protocols they follow are designed to avoid discomfort and often hasten dying. I believe there is much opportunity for improvement in pain management and family inclusion in the process.
The reality of life in a fallen sin-corrupted world is that many choose to end life in a way that clearly does not have God’s approval. Some choose the option of self-murder or suicide while others seek professional help to end their life. The result is brutally hard on family and friends and filled with all the awkwardness of grief and anger and not knowing what to think or how to speak. We often cannot change another person’s conviction that is the best way to end life even though we believe it is not.
A similar topsy-turvy approach frequently guides the planning for what immediately follows death. Too many times the first question is “how much will it cost” yet that never enters into consideration in the Bible. We do need to be wise in using financial resources but we can be prudent and honoring to this one created in the image of God. The repeated example presented to us in the Bible is that of great care being taken with a loved ones remains, treating the body with as much care and consideration as when they were alive. The idea that when we die we are done with our body and it doesn’t matter what happens to it is only partly accurate. Yes, at death we are finished using it in its original condition but… God’s purpose for us including our bodies extends beyond death into eternity.
Hope
The majority of people in our world have a false or at least misguided hope about what happens after death. Many will say of their loved one “she’s in a better place now”, “they’re not suffering any more”. It is true that life after death is better for the Christian but not for everyone else. Many hope there is no life after death but they will be in for a rude awakening when they reach their final destination. An older catechism has an excellent first question and answer for the Christian:
Question 1: What is your only comfort in life and in death?
Answer 1: That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live unto Him.
So how does this help us when we are faced with attending a funeral or memorial service or celebration of life for someone who ended life badly? who did so in a way contrary to God’s purpose and commands? We need an answer to other questions first, like “what is the purpose of such an event? and “what is our purpose in attending?”
Perhaps you are there to honor one who was important to us in some way. The way they chose to end life does not represent their entire life. That is true regardless of the particular circumstances. We can certainly honor the things about them that are worthy of honor without giving sanction to how they chose to die. If their choice was one that indicated rebellion against God and his commands, we are all guilty of that at some point, perhaps many points in our lives. Honor what is honorable, praise what is commendable, be thankful for the good they brought into your own life.
A funeral is more for the living than for the dead. One of the most necessary things at that time is hope for those who are left behind. The one who seeks help to die often does so from a sense of hopelessness. Christians can experience that as well when they lose proper focus, being overwhelmed by their circumstances and giving less attention to the God who is with them in their circumstances. A funeral or graveside service can be an opportunity to guide those who are hopeless toward the One who gives genuine and eternal hope. It may also be a time to help those with a false hope gently understand truth about what really happens at death.
There is a series of questions everyone wants answers for: who am I; where did I come from; why am I here; where am I going; how do I know this. These really are ultimate questions addressing matters of life and death. While there are related questions that seem less significant, the starting place usually lies in one of these ultimate questions. God has given us answers in his Word the Bible and we should take every opportunity to share the truth with others.
Reformanda 