We belong to each other

My earlier piece about euthanasia provoked quite a few reactions. It provided fascinating insights, but confirmed my feeling that it is gradually coming down to the question 'To whom does my life belong?'. As a Christian, my first thought was of course God. But I'm not going to deny that I respect people who exclude God from their lives and therefore had no use for my argument. It wouldn't let me go and that's why I prayed in search of more knowledge. And suddenly the Holy Spirit whispered another important thought to me: “You belong to each other, you are brothers and sisters'.

How could I forget that? It is one of the core tenets of what we believe as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We believe in eternal family ties and that we are all children of our Heavenly Parents. Forging those bonds is an important task, so we must realize that. That is why one of the great commandments is 'Love one another'. It is one of the core points of Christianity.

We then spontaneously think of charity and caring for each other. But the real command is to love. This means that we are there for each other and help each other in our eternal growth. But if our lives are so connected, that also means that when we end our own lives, we also let a lot of connections die.

Someone told me 'I don't want to live like a plant for 10 years' but there are so many examples of loved ones who fight to keep their loved one in a coma or not to turn off the machines. Even if you are not consciously active, your life always means something to others. Tearing yourself out of their lives leaves a wound.

So once again the great value of Jesus' answer to the question of what the greatest commandment was becomes apparent. “Love God” and “Love one another” is also the answer to the question to whom your life belongs. Because of that love, my first response, to God, was only half the answer. The second part is 'together'. And one loose thread can ruin a beautiful sweater.