I don’t know why it even dawned to me when I wasn’t even thinking about who basically dictates our death. I was then simply sitting alone in our front yard facing the grotto of “Our Lady of Fatima” I handcrafted a few years back. After finishing a session with the Rosary, prayer for enlightenment and bible reading, I relaxed and sat there alone taking my time idly. It was during that time when it occurred to me why God would employ an untimely, tragic or horrible kind of death to some people. I wasn’t serious in my reflection, though, but it did strike me a bit.
Out of nowhere, I came into realization that death isn’t actually singly dictated by God. The thought came to me like somebody just put it there in my head at that time. I haven’t even read an in-depth spiritual philosophy about death. I wasn’t so keen to find answers. However, it came anyway, like a bird that landed from nowhere. I like to claim that it came as enlightenment. It sounds reasonable.
The thought and realization was that not all deaths are actually God’s accountability. We too, ourselves are responsible over the timing and manner of our own death. Logically, there are three dictators to our own death namely; God, our own selves and persons other than ourselves. Simply stating, any of these three dictators could cause the manner and timing of our own death.
Firstly, as an example from real-life scenarios, I may die any day, in any way according to God’s will and plan. Nobody stops Him and nobody could reverse that reality. In that case, God being the owner and giver of life is the real and irrevocable dictator of my death. Secondly, I may also be my own dictator of my death if I commit suicide, knowingly abuse my body, neglecting my health, intentionally ignoring safety traffic signs or any other irresponsible actions I take that could cause me to lose my own life sooner or later. In which case, I myself am solely to blame for my own untimely demise. Lastly, anybody other than God and me could take my life away. A friend, relative, stranger, any other third or second party could cause my death by way of murder, irresponsible actions, selfish interests, or foolishness.
In other words, God has no hand in the second and third set of scenarios exemplified above. Though He has absolute power to stop anything in this world, He allows tragedies to happen because He gave us absolute free will. That’s why, it is always unfair of us to blame everything to Him. It’s true that He knows and sees the past, present and future. However, because being a holy and perfect entity that He is, He lovingly could not take back his great gift of bestowing mankind a “free will” when He created them. He honors His intent. His greatness put all the laws of physics to make the universe function and interact by itself. He let things be as they are, unless we move his heart through our prayers for intervention and protection. That said, He could change the course of events if He wills it. Ultimately, it’s time for us to change our biased and closed perception about the reality of death and not put all the blame to God.
