Freedom from fear

Elderly Christians could have a unique voice in the healthcare debate | Joel Belz

Kathy Quirk-Syvertsen/Digital Vision/Getty Images

Even at the age of 88 my friend Bess Gilmore is sprightly, direct, and efficient. So when she called the other night, I wasn't surprised that she got right to the point.

"Joel," she said, "the doctor tells me that I've got cancer. And I'm not upset about it. In fact, I'm thinking maybe this is the vehicle God is designing to take me to heaven."

I'd spent a good part of that day reading up on some of the competing ideas that Congress, the Obama administration, and others are suggesting for the revamping of our nation's healthcare system. But in all that I'd read, nothing approached the boldness or simplicity of what Bess Gilmore was suggesting. Maybe, I thought, there's something profoundly important here that we've been leaving out of the national healthcare discussion.