As I write, the House of Lords are debating Lord Falconer’s
proposed ‘Assisted Dying Bill’ that would allow doctors to prescribe a lethal substance
to terminally ill people who want to die and who in the opinion of two doctors
have no more than six months to live. Patients would self-administer the lethal
agent. Those seeking death within the remit of the law must demonstrably be of
sound mind for sanctioning their decision. The proposed Bill raises
controversial issues such as measures to assure that vulnerable patients will
not be placed under pressure to terminate their lives. Baroness Grey-Thompson,
the high profile disability campaigner and paralympian said it was a ‘chilling
prospect’, but the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, backs the Bill,
after considering the case of Tony Nicklinson who had locked-in syndrome, but
could not end his life to curtail his suffering.
Whatever the ins and outs of this debate, the reality of
long term suffering begs the question asked by many people, “Why does God allow
suffering?” I doubt there is a bigger stumbling block that comes between
unbelievers and God than this one. “Why should a God of love even dream of
creating a world in which there is so much suffering?”
Much suffering is of our own making. Inherently we are
self-centred and self-willed. We seek power, wealth and to satisfy our desires.
We are essentially depraved, i.e., immoral, wicked and corrupt, but none of us
will own up. Because of our actions we inflict pain on others, sometimes
physical and often mental. Yesterday, a Malaysian airliner was shot down over
eastern Ukraine causing the loss of life to all onboard. The pain and misery
that event brings to relatives and friends is unimaginable. Wherever we look in
the world there is strife - all because of our depravity.
Not all suffering is as a result of our direct actions, but
there is what we term, ‘natural disasters’; sometimes referred to as ‘acts of
God’. As inhabitants of the earth we have shirked our responsibilities and we
have pillaged the earth’s resources; we have damaged the eco-structure: forests
have been destroyed, seas polluted and countless billions of carbon particles
have been pumped into the atmosphere. We therefore have partial blame for what
happens within the sphere of nature on a cataclysmic scale, even contributing
to forces leading to hurricanes, unprecedented rainfall and droughts.
God is not aloof in these matters. He knows more than any of
us what is going on. Indeed, He is Sovereign of the Universe, since He made it.
He sustains it as it is, and He will bring all things to an end. Why? - For His
own loving purposes. He wants to share His love with us. He wants us to have a share in
His heavenly kingdom. We can have shares in that kingdom right now by kneeling
before Him and confessing our depravity and renouncing our past ways with
genuine sorrow for our hurt to our friends, family and those with whom we have
contact, but most of all for our failure to love God and accept His rule over
our lives.
God sent His beloved Son into the world to show us His love.
No one has suffered more than the Son of God. He died a horrendous death on a
cross and suffered beyond measure; physically, mentally and spiritually, all
because He loves us. Without taking on such suffering He could not have paid
the price of forgiveness for all of our transgressions, i.e., our lack of
reverence to God who created us, and our hurt to others and us.
Such an understanding puts pain and suffering into a
different perspective. Without pain and suffering we would not know truly what
it is like to be without them, nor would we be able to truly appreciate life
without them. This life can seem an eternity for one who is in continual pain
and there seems little solace for the sufferer, except that one day it will
come to an end. Those who suffer are not alone, because those who love them
also suffer since they ‘feel’ for the one they love.
On a day of the Lord’s choosing an end will come when all
will be judged for what they have done, said and thought. Without the
sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus there would be no one who is able
to stand before the Supreme Judge and say, “I am not guilty. I am spotless
before You because of what Your Son Jesus has done for me. I stand before You
in His righteousness. I thank you Lord, for your love and forgiveness.”
After that day of judgement, for believers there will be no
more pain, only love and peace with God, but for those who reject the Son of God
who suffered death on a cross and rose to life again, God’s wrath remains on
them.
‘He who believes in
the Son has everlasting life; and he who does no believe the Son shall not see
life, but the wrath of God abides on him.’ (John 3:36)
Links
Assisted dying law would lessen suffering says Falconer
Assisted-dying Legislation in the UK
Assisted dying: what’s at stake in the Lords debate?
Tanni Grey-Thompson: Assisted dying 'a dangerous path'
Bible Gateway
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