Last night my mom and I watched My Sister’s Keeper. For
those of you who have seen it, you know how hopeless and sad the ending is. As
the closing credits played, my mom and I were discussing how different it would
have been if Christianity had been “part of the equation.” I wanted to share
some of these points with you, just so you can have something to think about. For
those of you who haven’t had the chance to see this movie, I’ll give you a
synopsis. However, please note that my observations may bring about spoilers,
so you might consider watching the movie first.
Anna Fitzgerald is an eleven year old girl with a very
unusual story. Whereas most babies are accidents and attempts to start a
family, Anna has a different purpose. She was born for the sole purpose of
saving her sister Kate’s life. Kate was diagnosed with leukemia at a very young
age. Because neither her parents nor her brother Jesse were a perfect match, her
mom and dad agreed to have Anna. They started taking parts of Anna shortly
after she was born, and everyone was okay with it on the surface. But now, at
eleven years old, Anna “doesn’t want to do it anymore.” Thus she decides to sue
her parents for the rights to her own body in order to be medically
emancipated. An epileptic lawyer teams up with her and they begin the battle
for medical emancipation. We watch the family fall apart as Kate continues to
deteriorate. In the end we discover that Kate orchestrated the whole thing. She
wanted to die, and she knew she wouldn’t survive the next procedure. Therefore
she made Anna pretend to be unwilling to donate her kidney, and asked both Anna
and Jesse to keep it a secret. By the time the truth surfaces, it’s too late.
Kate dies shortly after. No closure, no happy after-effects, no hope at all.
Goodbye; the end.
Now I’m not saying this wasn’t a good movie. I enjoyed it
very much. I would just like to point out the things they could’ve changed in
order to make a happy, hopeful, Christ-oriented story, which I believe is very
important. The first issue is the plot in general. This plot reminds me of
Abram and Sarai’s decision in Genesis 16. God had promised Abram many
descendants; as numerous as the stars in the sky. However, because Sarai was
barren, she took matters into her own hands. She gave Abram her servant Hagar
to be his wife, that they would have children. They did have a child, but he
would not be the son with which God would establish his covenant because they
had gone against God’s timing. This is similar to the decision Sara and Bryan
Fitzgerald made in having Anna. They didn’t trust God or his perfect will.
Instead they decided to take matters into their own hands and save Kate
themselves. In the end they couldn’t save her. That’s because God’s will was
that it was time for Kate to go on.
Another way they could’ve added some hope was through the
ending. After Kate’s death we hear Anna talking about it. She says, “I wish I could
tell you that there was some good that came out of it; that through Kate’s
death we could all go on living. Or even that her life had some special
meaning, like they named a park after her, or a street… or that the Supreme
Court changed a law because of her. But none of that happened. She’s just gone…
a little piece of blue sky now. And we all have to move on.” As I heard her say
these words, I was deeply saddened. Where was the hope? Where was the light?
After all of that sadness, heartache, and loss, could they not find anything to
hold on to? The way Anna was talking, it sounded like her life ended when Kate’s
did. Sure, the sun came out at the end, but what did that mean? Light is
supposed to mean hope, but here it seems like there is none.
See, they missed the point of death completely. Death doesn’t
have to mean the end. For those of us who believe, death is simply a part of
life here on Earth, and we know we have something to look forward to. When we
die, people miss us for the short time we are separated. But they do not
continue to mourn because they know we will all be reunited in heaven someday,
and we will spend eternity there. There will be no more sorrow, only endless
joy. That’s the gospel, and it should just make you want to jump up and say, “Praise
the Lord!” Why then, at the end of this movie, do we feel so hopeless and sad?
It’s because for the Fitzgeralds, and for many others as well, there is no hope
in death. They don’t know the gospel, and the price they pay is a sadness that
lasts forever, and eternal separation from God.
I don’t want you to think this means I feel no sadness for
the Fitzgeralds. Too many families lose children to cancer for me to count. I’ve
known quite a few personally. It’s an experience you don’t forget, and it
forces you to make some choices you never thought you would make. I can’t
describe what it’s like to feel that way, because I don’t know. I hope I never
will. I feel great sadness for these families, and I can’t judge them for their
choices. All I can do is pray for them and hope they will come to know the
gospel. I don’t know what it’s like to be in a situation like that, but I know
that when you put your trust in Jesus, there’s nothing you won’t make it through.
Maybe you’ve felt what the Fitzgeralds felt, and maybe you haven’t. Either way,
I hope you know the hope and the joy of putting your trust in Jesus. If you don’t,
I can honestly promise you that it’s worth it.
