The human spirit is that which leaves the body at the moment of death. In this sense, the spirit is life itself.
It is beyond our purpose to engage in discussions of medical ethical questions, as important as they are, such as when life begins and ends. Our job is limited to acknowledging that the human spirit is no less important than life itself and deserves ongoing thoughtful conversation.
Consciousness and all it contains is the domain of the non-physical or spiritual substance of life. Cognition and its components, abstract thought, reason, purpose, values, and will are fundamentally spiritual in this conceptualization. One of the functions of the human spirit, for example, is its role in establishing the difference between right and wrong, and between good and evil.
What counts most at the time of death? Is it the assurance that one’s life was meaningful? Is it the peaceful separation of the spirit from the body? Is it the immediate transition to contentment? Is it to spend endlessness in the presence of God?
Christians believe Jesus is sitting at the side of God in Heaven where He has gone to prepare a place for them, and He will return for them. Critics call this, “Pie in the sky by and by.” I call it the greatest promise ever made.
Can you envision a more hopeful departure than to be welcomed into the heavenly state by warm love of God?
Of course, there are other perceptions of God. They vary from atheism to polytheism.
Years ago, my wife and I traveled to South London on a mission trip aimed at helping young people from India become acclimated to an entirely different lifestyle. We knocked on doors asking, “Are you a Siek, Hindu, or Muslin?” I was hesitant, feeling awkward in my assignment.
The second door we knocked on was answered by a pleasant woman. “Are you a Siek, Hindu, or Muslin,” I asked.
“I am a Jehovah’s Witness,” was the smiling reply.
Shocked, I asked how she became a Jehovah’s Witness. Quickly she replied, “Somebody knocked on my door.”
Some people consider that faith and hope in Jesus as “fully human and full God” is a nonintellectual, outdated, postmodern fallacy. Dr. David Jeremiah said that God the Father has no skin, Jesus the Son of God has skin, and the Holy Spirit is inside our skin, when we accept His divinity.
Judeo-Christian guidelines for an excellent and fulfilling spiritual life and death are the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God and the teachings of Jesus described throughout the Bible, more clearly in the New Testament, but also in the Old Testament.
A good dividend available to all Christians is the forgiveness of sins by believing my favorite verse, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (Jesus) that whosoever believes on Him (as the Son of God) will not perish, but will have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
No less important is the verse, “Jesus said if you love me, keep my commands.” John 14:15.
Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship between God’s Son, Jesus, and those who accept his divinity, and choose to have a deep, lasting, personal, and intimate kinship with Him.
Jesus promised never to leave for sake those who believe in him. It is a promise that dates back to 1400 B.C. when Moses was 127 years old. No longer able to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, the job was given to Moses’ spiritual son, Joshua.
Moses spoke to his people as a father or good NFL coach: “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6.
Beginning at age 30, the same age as many of our combat Soldiers, Jesus’ deployment lasted 3 years.
I’ve never liked drawings or other artistic depictions of Jesus. I reject them because they must be inauthentic.
But I can picture Jesus in ACUs (Army Combat Uniforms), an NCO (Noncommissioned Officer), probably a medic rather than a chaplain, rendering care to Soldiers in need.
Militarily, Jesus is an ideal Battle Buddy. Your life can depend upon Him. Jesus is capable, kind, compassionate, humble, and understanding.
Jesus Christ is the model of the world’s most secure attachment. He loved everyone including His enemies. Even during His execution by crucifixion, He asked God to forgive them.
The challenges of living a good life with a good ending make it necessary to seek the fellowship of others whose beliefs about God and the human spirit are most like their own.
William James (1842-1910) father of Pragmatism distinguished between “healthy minded religion” and “sick minded religion.” As I understand James, he would not refer to today’s terrorists as sick but as evil.
Thank God for the gift of America, for the gift of every life given for the defense of America, for every person who has served in our military. My brother Randolph, USN, fought for America in WWII in the Pacific.
One of the most important experiences of my life was the 24 years I spent in the US Army Reserve, mostly in the Medical Corps.
When the camera scanned the audience I was touched by Sunday night’s TV Tribute to our fallen Soldiers (5/25/2025). The Spirit that gets into our skin shaped smiles from the soul. It was sacred, honest, irrepressible, truthful, and real. DD214 is a military form provided at retirement that lists all duty served. I could see the DD214 in every smile, in every tear, and every spirit.
Robert S. Brown, MD, PHD a retired Psychiatrist, Col (Ret) U.S. Army Medical Corps devoted the last decade of his career to treating soldiers at Fort Lee redeploying from combat. He was a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Education at UVA. His renowned Mental Health course taught the value of exercise for a sound mind.