LIFE AND CHOICES - A Christian perspective

“Christ did not die for all men, but for each man. For, if you were the only person existing in the universe, He would have still died for you.”- C.S.Lewis.

 

Emergency operating room is a venue of diverse emotions. As an anesthesiologist, you listen to the stories of patients and cannot but be touched- sometimes with warmth and empathy and sometimes with heartbreak and pain. 

The duty that day was not a hectic one –in the sense not one that would get onto your nerves. As I was sipping my coffee two slips requesting for surgery were passed on to me. One was a 7 year old boy with 45% burns and since the child had some time for the mandatory 6 hours fasting, I had a chat with the pediatric surgery registrar who was on that case.

It was one of the saddest stories I have heard.  The father of the boy posted for surgery had an illicit relationship with one of the relatives. The mother having known the truth had a major fight with her husband. The latter got fully drunk and left home. In a fit of fury, the mother mixed some sleeping pills in the family dinner. After everyone (4 children and the mothers sister) were in deep slumber, the mother drenched the house with kerosene and set fire upon her and the rest of the family. The mother died and so did her sister. Out of the 4 kids two succumbed while the boy who is now getting an extensive debridement for the burns injury and his younger brother survived. The father was arrested and the entire village from some remote part of Andhra Pradesh came forward to help the child. The surgery went on uneventfully and the child was sent back to the ward.

The second case was a 2 day old neonate who was born in a rural hospital and developed intestinal perforation. He was admitted in the neonatal intensive care with tubes in his windpipe, umbilicus, arteries and veins as he was shifted in an oxygen rich contraption to the theatre. The parents were very worried. The mother it looked still did not recuperate from the ordeal of child birth. The father as he was giving consent understood that a neonatal surgery had its own set of fatal complications. He affirmed his complete trust in the operating team and I suggested his family to look to God in those difficult times.

Within minutes into surgery, the part of intestine that gave way was identified, resected and one end of the intestine was brought out as stoma for the fecal matter to pass out. In a few months time when the child is stable, another surgery would be done and the stoma would be reversed. Over all there were no untoward incidents. The child was shifted back to NICU.

As I retired for some rest, I could not but ponder over the contrast between the two families and their perspective on life and its value. One of them just squandered precious young lives in an avalanche of emotion without even a consideration to what wonderful opportunities life may bring in its way. It was a myopic, impulsive, narrow-minded, fatalistic perspective on life. It is just so saddening that innocent children had to pay a price for the lusts of inebriated adults. On the other hand, the family of the newborn was positive even in dire circumstances. The parents out of the love for their child realized how precious life was and how important that child is to them and to the world.

 

What made the two families react to adversity in contrasting ways? I thought, it was their difference in worldviews. While one perspective forced the parent to snuff out the breath of life, the other parent’s worldview encouraged them to have faith.

 How do I look at the value of life? Am I a product of mere random chance coming from astronomical mathematics and vanishing to nothingness once my days are done? Or am I a beloved child of God who was sent to this planet according to a Divine plan and whose days have been counted and written ahead of time? Am I going to end in a hopeless eternal vacuum or am I going to meet my Heavenly father when my life is done? I believe that future is secure and rests in the hands of God. It is this concrete foundation that helps me see the intrinsic value of human life.

The Bible speaks of a very personal God who values life and individuals. He spoke and chose to communicate with specific people. He loves me as if I am the only person on the planet. His love did not stop with words, but was followed by actions. He wanted to bring the lost children back to his fold- that rebellious creation of His who fell from a relationship with Him. He decided to send His son and His sacrifice would make things right between us and God.  The death and resurrection of Christ is the epitome of sacrificial love God bestowed upon all mankind.

The cross of Christ is the grandest expression to how much God values human life. He loved you and so He even laid down His life for you. That is your worth! That is your value! That is your answer to the world running after recognition. You have been identified by Him. That is the answer to the world that is craving for power and authority. The God of all creation is at your avail at the cross. All the heavens power is with you. The cross is the memorial of our preciousness and His invaluable sacrifice and immeasurable love.

Now God is asking us to lead lives that are fitting to our eternal status. It involves loving Him, giving my best, my first to him and loving my neighbor- putting him before myself. It involves honoring Him with our lives and honoring life itself.  And we ought to give life its highest regard because all life has its origin from and culminates into God Himself.