Refusing medical treatment. The decision is gut-wrenching. It can cause nightmares. And guilt. Sometimes years of guilt.

Modern technology allows us to keep people alive under circumstances that would have killed them a few years ago. But can using that technology be wrong? Is it wrong to have a "no resuscitation" clause written into a living will? Is it OK to "pull the plug" if someone is only living because of a machine?

Preserving life or postponing death

When dealing with care at the end of life it is helpful to distinguish between preserving life and postponing death. Preserving life means to provide the comfort, care, and sustenance needed to sustain life, regardless of the quality of life. Postponing death is employing extraordinary medical treatment with the hope of preventing death when according to our human judgment God is calling the person home.

God calls upon us to preserve life. He doesn't ask us to postpone death.

This doesn't mean that when death is near we will withdraw all care. When it is clear that God is about to call someone out of this life within a relatively short period of time (hours or a few days) then we could withdraw treatment that is only prolonging the process. We would still provide them with basic care such as food and fluids (as much as possible depending on circumstances) and also keep the person comfortable with pain medications.

Just as God wants us to use medicine to prolong life, so he wants us to "let go" when it is clear he is bringing a person's life to an end.

Motive

Another factor to consider in end-of-life care is our motive. Is our reason for ending the treatment to end the person's life? The cause of death should not be from the withdrawal of the treatment but from the underlying illness or condition.

Ending a person's suffering is not a reason to end a person's life. However, in the case of someone who is brain dead, the respirator which maintains breathing may be removed even though this may cause the body to stop breathing. In such a case it appears that the person has already died and that we simply have a mechanically sustained body. Thus the removal of the respirator is not the cause of death.

God's grace; God's control

Even though some may not want to admit it, medicine does have its limitations. It can do some amazing things in prolonging life, but it cannot prevent death. Ultimately God is in control. See Deuteronomy 32:39 . (Also see http://www.christianliferesources.com and http://www.wels.net.)

In all of these decisions our goal is to remember that God reserves the right to end a person's life. We want him to control when we die because we've seen how much he loves us when he allowed Jesus to die to forgive us. Our attitude will be that of the psalm writer, "I trust in you, O Lord; I say, You are my God. My times are in your hands" (Psalm 31:14,15).

Further reading: Do Not Resuscitate Orders

Pastor John Parlow serves Jesus as pastor of St. Mark Lutheran Church in Green Bay, WI.