The Difference the Gospel Makes in My Sister's Keeper

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.