The issue before him was life or death. But, this wasn’t the first time. George Bush Jr. had already faced such issues many times before as the governor of Texas. After all, our leaders are expected to make life and death decisions. But, unlike granting a convicted criminal’s request for a pardon, we were now asking him as president to decide the fate of an uncountable multitude of innocent individuals who didn’t have the ability to ask for themselves. Yet, it wasn’t as simple as it sounds. The fate of many of these unborn individuals had already been decided. They were to be discarded as waist matter. Their existence was the product of science, not love. And science would now rather use them for good then throw them away. The issue, of course, was over government funding of stem cell research. If such funding were to be approved, the benefits to the living could be profound. Many terrible, disabling diseases might be finally eliminated from the earth. In fact, some believe it could open the door to a “brave new world” of medical marvels – such as the ability to grow body parts to replace those that fail. Others, such as biomedical ethicist Leon Kass, warns of the dangers. Kass said, “The preservation of the humanity of the human future is now in our hands.” The fact is, many of the arguments now used in support of stem cell research were used by scientists in Germany who experimented on so-called waist matter from Hitler’s death camps. Bush didn’t take his responsibility casually. He consulted with doctors, scientists, politicians and theologians. It was reported that he agonized over his decision as if he were sending our boys to war. He understood the gravity of the matter – the issue was life or death. As I thought about this, I realized that we Americans are fortunate to still have leaders who can agonize over the issue of life and death. In so many other parts of the world, leaders make life and death decisions in such casual ways. For example, today the Middle East is caught up in a cycle of violence that – if it continues – not only threatens the region, it threatens the peace and stability of the entire world. If all the leaders in the Middle East had first agonized over their life or death decisions as our president recently did, this cycle of violence would not have begun. But life or death decisions are not just for world leaders to make. Whether we want to or not, we face them too. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live” (John 5:25 New American Standard Bible). Did you hear what Jesus just said? Whether or not you heard what He said is an issue of life or death – yours. Have you agonized over it? Have you even thought about it? You see, we too can make life or death decisions in casual ways. Either Jesus was the Son of God, or He wasn’t the Son of God. According to the Bible, how we believe about this matter is an issue of life or death – ours. Unfortunately, this is not a decision our elected leaders can make for us. In fact, when George Bush Jr. dies, he won’t have any more clout with God then we will. Perhaps this explains why he agonized over his recent decision about allowing stem cell research. He realized it was an issue of life or death – his. |