If Heaven is such a wonderful place....?

Question

why are people surprised at me when I say that I cannot wait to be there?
I have lung disease and most likely will be dead within 5 years whether I get treatment or not. I have made some bad choices in my life and deal with daily persecution because of my past actions (even from some of my "Christian" bretheren).
So why, when I say I look forward to death and heaven, do people insist I seek psychiatric treatment (which I am btw, so please don't tell me to see a shrink) and not have a "death-wish"? Why should I fight to stay alive, when I really want to go and meet my creator?
I am not considering suicide, but I am considering stopping treatment.
I am really more interested in getting answers from Christians, as that is my faith, but I would be honored to accept answers from other faiths as well.

Thank you all for your answers. In retrospect, I guess I am being a bit selfish here.

X and teenage: I disagree. But thank you for taking the time to answer.

Picking a "best" answer is going to be hard on this one. Wish I could give all of you the points.

Answer 1

my Dad is going through cancer right now. He says that if it were not for his family, he would choose to just die as well. I think this is a decision you need to make after much prayer. I totally understand what you mean. I would choose to be in heaven now if God gave me that choice. But he has stuff for me to do here first, I guess! Maybe he does for you as well? You can't make this decision based on fear, or selfishness. If you don't have a family, or anyone dependent on you, and you are at peace, then I would say it is fine to make the decision to quietly end treatment. You are at peace with God. You are ready to go home. The only thing that would be stopping you is if God has more plans for you on earth or if you have responsibilities to family here. hope this helps. e-mail me at [e-mail] if you have more questions.

Answer 2

I can't wait to get to heaven either! And I'm a healthy young woman. There is nothing wrong with wanting to meet your Savior.

I can see why some people may be concerned about your outlook. There's a fine line between giving God control and giving up. I don't believe as a Christian we are to give up. A lot of Biblical lessons teach us perseverance (see Matthew 7:7-11, Genesis 18:14, Psalm 121, 2 Corinthians 1:5).

I recently heard an excellent sermon... When we are ill we always ask God to heal us if it's "His Will." Well, Jesus conquered the world (John 16:33) including the diseases of it and many of his miraculous healings were done on people who only had FAITH that He would heal (remember the girl who touched his robe?). The long and the short of it is, repent of any sins you may have forgotten, live your life for the Lord and have FAITH that your lung disease can "disappear."

FAITH is the key. If you have faith then you can move mountains!! Speak power to your disease. Say "Thank you Lord for healing me!" And I bet before you know it, you'll be healed. Make sure you pray and ask the Lord what to do about receiving treatment. Look into natural treatment options (changing your diet). In the meantime, enjoy praising our Savior in this world!! He is worthy...

Answer 3

Well according to christianity not receiving treatment that deteriorates your body and leads to your death would be a form of suicide and also you are supposed to keep your body in its best condition possible. Saying you want to meet your maker and go to heaven shocks people because we are told to live life to the fullest and value life for every moment we can, our time comes when it does and we only have one life so make the best of it. Saying you want to leave this world for the next would be shocking since it just isnt normal for most people, theres nothing wrong with wanting to die and go to heaven, especially since its part of your faith, as long as you dont try to end your life before its time then what you want is fine. I personally am not afraid of death, i dont really care if i died anytime soon, but i do want to live long enough to have a family with kids and raise them but beyond that ill accept my death when it comes. We all have made some bad choices and eventually we must accept those and move on. I do hope you get better somehow and live life as best you can, but when you die it will be your time and hopefully you get to the place in which your faith believes you will. I am not christian, I am a pagan and proud of it, i have spent most of my life around death since i was a baby so im not afraid of it and my faith that i have found has helped me be more comfortable with the thought of facing the afterlife, probably much like it did to you. Good luck and have a good happy life.

Answer 4

I think why it surprises people is because not everyone is forced to face their own mortality, beyond filling out forms for life insurance.

Its a similiar case with organ donors - the majority agree with organ donorship, yet it's the minority that actually goes and signs up to be one. For whatever reason some people are just incapable of admitting they will die one day. That includes most people who preach about the benefits of 'becoming saved.'

Perhaps rather than saying you look forward to death you should just say you're looking forward to heaven. Death in Christianity is more of a rebirth, you shed this flesh and enter into a paradise. When you tell people you look forward to death, they're going to think of that selfishly and see death as how it affects them. They'll suffer a loss, you will be gone to them, etc. It's a negative interpretation of the word.

As for why you should fight to stay alive when you want to go and meet your creator, no one can answer that for you, unfortunately. All I can try to say is that God created the world for *you* to live in. We are supposed to be the stewards of this world. I'm sure God would like to see you as much as you'd like to see him, but until he takes you himself it's our responsibility to stay and try to fulfill our job here as best we can. If he's providing a means with which we can stay here a bit longer (treatment) I would say take it, and use that time to make the world even just a little bit better before you do leave it.

Answer 5

I'm sorry for your disease and i hope it will not bring a lot of pain (i would say i hope you get cured, but you say that's impossible so i just stick to that wish). I understand you and i believe you got used to the idea that you will die. Frankly i think it is the best thing that could have happened to you. Most people are afraide - no, terrified about death, and that brings a lot of pain (i think fear is one of the worst things). All I can do is wish you a lot of joys in the time you have left, and hope yo will find what you are expecting "on the other side". You don't need a psycologyst, you seem like a balanced person to me, and accpting your destiny only confirms that.
I am a Christian myself, btw

Answer 6

From what I understand ,,heaven is not such a bad place , but It will be there for ever, so why hurry ,, I know that it is a struggle for you ,( to even get your next breath ) but you're tough satan stuck you a nasty pain that most people couldn't live threw, but definately wouldn't want to.. but getting to heaven is like climbing a mountain the higher you get the harder it is to breath ,, theirs bodys along the way that are frozen in time that have been in that same position for decades or longer ,, so don't be finding yourself there frozen in time , just keep climbing ,when you reach the top the view will be so much prettiey not having that guilty bush blocking your view ,, the bush is usualy thick enough without adding more branches...

Answer 7

I don't know. The apostle Paul wrote, inspired by the Holy Spirit too, "To live is Christ; to die is gain." I can't remember chapter and verse but I always liked that passage too. If the treatment probably won't heal you anyway, then I would agree with you to stop treatment, especially if the treatment is unpleasant, and just pray for healing. If God wants you alive, He can miraculously heal you. And if He keeps you alive, He does so because He has a purpose for you here on earth. You should try to fulfill that purpose while you still can. I don't blame you for looking forward to heaven though. I'm looking forward to it as well.

Answer 8

I'm truly sorry to hear about your condition my hopes and prayers go with you.

It doesn't surprise me that people react the way you mentioned, life is such a marvelous thing it's hard for most people to understand why one would want to give it up, but nothing can stop that transition in to the spiritual realm. Your love for God will comfort you. I don't like telling people what they should do but I find wisdom and understanding in prayer.

If possible now would be a good time to mend relationships because that's a good thing in the sight of God.

Answer 9

I to have a lot of health problems and so does my husband we always have said we are in a race to see who goes first, we are Christians we are forgiven and we both look forward to going home. We don't think of it as a death wish..If I were in the shape you are in I know I would feel the same way...No one but God and you know when your ready, people don't understand what a person goes through when their dealing with things like your dealing with..When your ready you will go home peacefully and you will no longer be sick with this..My nephew is around 50 and he has black lung on top of sugar diabetes and he at one time was well built close to 200 or so, now he is down to like 136 he is dying and he wants to die, and he has given up on all his meds, he is miserable the way he is and I wouldn't want to be in that shape and have to live on a machine or even the meds the rest of my life...Soon he will be going home as well. and he too will be at peace..

Answer 10

I think it is because they themselves are scared of and have not accepted death and you have, and so cannot comprehend why exactly you would want to die when they are scared of death.
Maybe you want to die because of the bad chioces you have made, if that is the case them maybe other people ahve also senced this and that is why they have adviced you to see a 'shrink'
I dont think there is anything wrong with you for exepting death.
Why continue living in pain and taking up treatment that other people need if you want to die, or going to die and have embraced it?
And who can really blame you for wanting to go to a better place i mean look at all of the horrible things that r hapnin on this planet.