God's Handiwork

I have written in previous articles about the sanctity of life and the dignity of aging. This is such an important topic that I wanted to pull together some thoughts from earlier writings to affirm the Christian worldview. Pragmatism, worldliness, and the emerging embrace of socialism is pushing our culture toward self-destruction. In my Dad's case, I state emphatically that: (1) he was never a lesser person; (2) he was never a burden on his family or society; (3) he was not expendable; (4) he was always a man with the touch of the divine.

It was difficult to watch a man "unlearn" his life, but those were just skills. Life skills or talents do not make the man. The Lord makes the man. Our value comes from Him. Even while Dad's skills ebbed, he was never robbed of his personhood or worth, and he was always our Dad. But the socialist worldview, which includes the emerging social justice movement, will force a moral showdown, as we struggle against the mob push for assisted suicide, burdensome healthcare regulations and insurance mandates, cost-benefit assessments on the sick and elderly, and more. Our culture is moving toward a dark place where we extract what we can from people and then discard them as debris.

In our family, Dad was never a burden. We were privileged to honor him. And without a doubt, Daddy gave far more than he received. The Lord gave to us all far more than we gave to each other. These last four years were a gift from God. That's why I pray that God will give all of us the wisdom to value life as the marvelous gift it is. Life is God's handiwork, and we must reverence the elderly with dignity that affirms God's greatness. Dad was worthy of our best, loving service.