THE WORLD AT AN END #305 -- On Death

UNDER THE FIG TREE (#58)

A hermit observing the world from his cave

ON DEATH

As Christians, we are pilgrims on earth, merely passing through on our way to

heaven. And life on earth we must agree is a valley of tears. So why are most Christians

so reluctant to leave this life and face death, being the only gateway to eternal life?

Now God did intend for us to exist in this world. Through our early years, we are to

experience love, raise a family, succeed in our chosen career, serve others, and

perhaps even make a major contribution of a scientific or technological discovery for the

world. There will be a lot of joy, as God intends.

But when we are on in years, not as strong as we used to be, retired, perhaps with an

empty nest, and even with our contemporaries starting to die, many still look to long life,

searching for life-extending and usually expensive therapies. No one seems to want to

die. And even our children, those whose parent has fallen seriously ill and is on life-

support, do not want him/her to go, using artificial life-extending means, expending

money which will negatively impact on family finances. Christian brethren, when we are

seriously sick, tell us they will pray for long life for us.

All this is failure to appreciate God’s design. Here are the realities:

• Our life is finite. “Seventy is the sum of our years, or eighty, if we are strong”

(Ps 90:10a). Why do people insist on living to 100 or beyond?

• We are pilgrims and just passing through this earth. Why stay in a valley of

tears when we can look forward to eternal joy in heaven?

• Why spend more time on earth when we have become more alone, with our

family and friends having gone their own way or even dying before us, when

we can look to eternal fellowship with angels and saints in heaven? Perhaps

we are masochists who prefer sorrow to joy.

Then there are the practical human aspects.

• Do we want our contemporaries, even some of our own children, to pass into

the next life before us? Do we want to bury them, rather than they burying us?

• Do we want to spend the rest of our days, certainly with some pleasures that

are still to be enjoyed, but basically weaker and unable to do the wonderful

things we used to do? We look with nostalgia on how life used to be, but fail to

look to the glorious life that awaits us in heaven.

• Do we want to look to a life of medications, being bed-ridden (or most of the

time just at rest) and hospital visits? In heaven we can actually play among the

stars!

Now some will say, but I want to see all my children or grandchildren grow up, finish

school, even get married and have a family. But at what generation will that stop? We

will naturally experience those joys in our lifetime. But if we look to our youngest child

making that rite of passage, what prevents us from looking to our eldest grandchild to

also do so? We cannot be there forever.

Now I have seen a number of children deciding to prolong the life of a deathly-ill

parent lying on a hospital bed. At times they even go against the parent’s instruction of

DNR (do not revive). Sure it is understandable that they can’t let go of their beloved. But

this is not love. In truth, it is not good but a bad act. Why?

• They are obstructing God’s appointed time, when He is already calling His

beloved to Himself. Imagine: preventing a loved one from already making his

journey to heaven.

• They are prolonging his suffering. Who wants to remain bedridden, perhaps

unconscious to the world, stuck with tubes and filled with meds? Would you

condemn your loved one to such a fate, lasting for months or even for years?

• They are giving themselves a financial hardship. These prolonged hospital

stays are very expensive! It is not good for the sick loved one, and not good for

the existing loved ones of the sick person.

• They will soon experience fatigue if the confinement and treatment are

prolonged. Their love might actually turn to resentment, even if they do not

admit it.

So what should loved ones do when their elderly parent gets seriously ill?

• Give him all the love, care and practical treatment that they can afford to give.

• Pray for his healing and physical wellness, but not necessarily for long life

(leave that up to God).

• When the time comes, rejoice in the Lord, and pray for his peaceful transition

into eternal life.