How would George interpret his suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the hope of resurrection? As George contemplates life with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), how would the Christian worldview inform his view about the value of his life as a person?

How would George interpret his suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the hope of resurrection? As George contemplates life with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), how would the Christian worldview inform his view about the value of his life as a person?

The critical situation and consequent life decisions that George and his family faced are truly devastating. Religion and inherent spiritual aspects play a fundamental role in the caregiving of patients with such terminal illnesses and chronic health conditions, as in the case of George, who was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Christian believers consider death as given its ultimate sense in terms of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection (Hoehner, 2020). Christians are encouraged to be compassionate and relieve the pain, but not at whatever cost. The crushing load of the cross on Jesus’s back and the nails stabbed into the hands and feet embody the burden of the fallenness of the world that Jesus chose to bear. From this perspective, Christianity establishes the interconnection of evil and sin’s causal connections with the suffering and diseases in the world.

Concerning the Christian vision of the world, Jesus’ followers are called upon suffering this fallenness with him and taking up crosses of their own. Illnesses and sins are perceived as intertwined concepts in the modern world and are understood as inherent to the fallenness of the current society. George is now required to combat, heal, and respond to his suffering by reflecting a worldview restored to wholeness. Fitzpatrick et al. (2015) state that current recognition of the fallen humanity and shared condition of needing the care that people cannot morally demand might be a driving force for responding appropriately to patients. With that said, George is called to accept the disease in the name of God and respond with love and compassion, and constantly depend on His love. Such a theological undertone enables one to perceive illness as related to individual and social life choices and structures in a very complex manner.