Choosing Life

"that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." — Matthew 5:45

We have this idea that life is supposed to be fair. No matter what we're taught, we yearn to believe this is true. One of the most fascinating passages in the book of Job is when his friends, seemingly earnestly seeking to comfort their friend, ask him what he did to deserve the situation he finds himself in.

As readers, we know that Job was a good man. The Bible upholds him as a righteous man. He is praised at the outset of the book for his faith. Yet he suffers, terribly. How can this be?

One of the hardest questions in all of life — for Christians and non-Christians alike — is the one about how a loving and benevolent God can allow suffering and sadness. Kids aren't supposed to get sick. Parents aren't supposed to watch their children suffer, whither, and die. But they do.

"The Fault in Our Stars," the novel by John Green that is currently the basis of the number one movie in the country, dares to explore what it means to be a victim of an unfair world. It also dares to challenge us on how to live life under those circumstances.

In "Braveheart," William Wallace (Mel Gibson) says, "Every man dies, but not every man truly lives." The meaning being that we'll all face the same fate — death — but we don't all make the same choices. We don't all live life to the full. We don't take risks. We don't take chances. We don't make the most of the gift we've been given.

Hazel Grace is prone to the same line of thinking. She has cancer. She is going to die — probably sooner than most. Her life is profoundly unfair. She says she's a grenade, and the best she can hope to do is limit those who end up in her path when she explodes.

Augustus Waters is in somewhat the same position. He has seen cancer take its toll. He is going to die. He is a victim of chance. But he appreciates his time for what it is — a gift. And he plans to make the most of it. He is unafraid to love Hazel Grace, even though it is hard. He is unafraid to risk for her, even though her time is short. And that outlook on life is infectious, and inspiring.

"The Fault in Our Stars" is a love story — not just of these two people, but of people who've learned to love life — with all its faults, shortcomings, and foibles — for the gift that it is. And there is beauty in that.

There is a song by Garth Brooks, called "The Dance," that is beautiful in its exploration of this idea that we should choose to risk, choose to live life to the full no matter what. It begins like this:

Looking back on the memory of

The dance we shared 'neath the stars above

For a moment all the world was right

How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye

And now I'm glad I didn't know

The way it all would end the way it all would go

Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain

But I'd have had to miss the dance

Holding you I held everything

For a moment wasn't I a king

But if I'd only known how the king would fall

Hey who's to say you know I might have changed it all

And now I'm glad I didn't know

The way it all would end the way it all would go

Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain

But I'd have had to miss the dance

Yes my life is better left to chance

I could have missed the pain but I'd have had to miss the dance

The premise of the song is, if you know the future and the sadness of life and had the chance to avoid that by making different choices, would you? Would you hold back from risking your heart if you knew the pain that would come with the loss of a loved one? Would you avoid bringing life into this world if you knew you would outlive your child?

Brooks emphatic answer to that question is no. I think John Green would answer that question the same way. If you knew how it would end, you could avoid the pain, but you'd miss the pleasure, too.

Hazel knew how her life would end, and she thought her greatest gift was to hold people at a distance. Augustus Waters knew how his life would end, and he knew that their time would be short, but he knew it was worth the risk. And they ended up better for it.

That is the beauty of this story. There is sadness and pain, but there is joy, too. Isn't that what life is really like?