The civil unrest of recent days drew my attention away from the ravaging effects of COVID-19 and toward the sanctity of life for all tongues, peoples, and races. I am challenged to ask, in relation to current events, “How do I daily practice a belief in the sanctity of life?”
President Ronald Reagan, on January 13, 1984, issued a proclamation designating January 22 as the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day. The proclamation was in sharp contrast to the January 22, 1973 action of the U.S. Supreme Court that legalized abortion-on-demand in all 50 states. National Sanctity of Human Life Day challenges believers to celebrate God’s gift of life, commemorate the incredible number of lives snuffed out by abortion, and commit themselves to protecting all human life at every season of life. As well, each anniversary of the date should compel believers to daily combat all forms of evil and injustice perpetuated against human life.
Kelsey’s Korner focuses on the reality that God is intimately involved in forming life within the womb and that each life generates from the One in whose image they are created (Gen. 1:26-27). Prior to sharing her tender content, we wanted to establish a biblical foundation of how Christians are to demonstrate that we truly embrace the sanctity of all human life.
The word sanctity means the quality of being holy, sacred, or set apart. “Sanctity of Life” implies that humanity is more sacred than the remainder of creation. Many attach the sanctity of life merely to abortion and euthanasia. While it definitely applies to those issues, its application is significantly broader in scope. Violence, abuse, oppression, human trafficking, and multiple other injustices are correspondingly violations of the sanctity of life.
Scripture outlines various practical methods to value human life. The references that follow provide a foundation. May I encourage you to conduct your own research to expand them?
Ensure that actions are motivated by love for God and love for others (Matt. 22:37-39).
Seek justice for the oppressed (Jer. 22:3).
Tend to the needs of the elderly and sick (Matt. 25:35-36).
Visit and encourage the incarcerated as well as their families (Matt. 25:36; Heb. 13:3).
Love and nurture God’s people (Gal. 6:10; Col. 3:12-15).
Care for widows and orphans (James 1:27).
Provide for the needs of the less fortunate (1 John 3:16-18).
Value your own life as part of God’s plan and purpose to do His will until His will is better served by your death (2 Tim. 4:6-8).
Become an agent of love and compassion wherever possible by embracing, through His strength, God’s character. I encourage you to study Psalm 86 and 145 while asking yourself the questions, “What is God like?” and “How am I to treat others?” (Phil. 4:13).
John, in Revelation 7:9-10, describes “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. . .” Such a description compels me to believe and proclaim that the sanctity of life is for all tongues, peoples, and nations. I pray that the same is true for you!
KELSEY’S KORNER
For the past few months my husband and I have been living with a growing joy and anticipation—we are pregnant!! As I write this post I am out of the miseries of the first trimester and onto the more joyful times of the second trimester. But our pregnancy, along with the current backdrop of COVID-19, police brutalities/racial injustices, and the growing hatred and distrust for innocent police officers, has brought a topic increasingly to my mind: the sanctity of human life. And not just the sanctity of life for one color, one socioeconomic status, or even one age range, but God’s heart for the lives of all humans. Dr. Ennis’s section discusses the sanctity of life for all tongues, peoples, and races. My section focuses on the sacredness of life for the unborn.
From Genesis to Revelation, God’s view of human life is crystal clear—it is sacred! More sacred, in fact, than that of any other animal, fish, or bug that shares our planet. This may seem obvious to many, but why is this the case?? What makes a human life more important than that of the family dog? What if the human is hated and selfish and the dog is beloved and loyal? Or, more relevantly, what if the human is not fully formed and is unwanted/unplanned?
The answer is simple: according to God’s Word a human’s value is not something that’s earned, bought, or grown into—it is intrinsic, and comes from the One in whose image we are created!
“Then God said, ‘Let us made man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea…and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in his own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen. 1:26-27).
A few chapters later, God further portrays the intrinsic value of life by establishing the just punishments for taking human life. “Whoever sheds the blood of man,” God says, “by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image” (Gen. 9:6). The preceding verse makes it clear that this punishment does not just apply to humans, but if an animal takes the life of a human then the animal should be put to death as well. The take-away? Because of the image that a human life bears, it is most honored, sacred, and is not a thing to be trifled with.
These high views of life are not just applied to adults, but the second book of the Bible provides us with God’s view of the unborn child as well: “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined….But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life” (Ex. 21:22-23). This verse is not just talking about the life of the woman, as some opposing scholars errantly claim, but the life of her unborn child as well, for what would be the point of stating that she is pregnant unless her child’s life is the life in question? These verses are profound in signifying the intrinsic value of the life of an unborn child, and according to Scripture, taking the life of the unborn, even by accident, requires the relinquishment of the offender’s life.
Although our pregnancy was planned, what if it hadn’t been? COVID-19 has completely turned our economy, job market, and way of life upside down, and the recent riots and brutalities are an ominous reminder of the hatred and sin still rampaging our country. It could be tempting to consider aborting our child, or “fetus”. In fact, it may seem more gracious to the child to spare him or her from having to be born in a country where pandemic and systemic hatred reign! However, human life is sacred. Human life is not ours to take. All 5 inches and 6 ounces of this baby inside of me is an image bearer of the Creator of the universe—a sacred title indeed! My baby’s heart beats with life that is not my own, with blood that is not my own, and with DNA that is not my own. Although fed and nourished by my body, my baby is being fearfully and wonderfully knitted together by God Himself (Ps. 139:14, 13). So despite the chaos around us, my husband and I marvel at the life God has created and is growing inside of me. Regardless of the stresses and burdens surrounding us, we continue to trust that God will care for this sacred life He is creating (Prov. 3:5-6).
THE EVERYDAY HOMEMAKER’S MONTHLY MEDITATION THOUGHT
God’s Word states, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)
Therefore, I may boldly say, “Since God gave his beloved sin to die on behalf of sinful men, sanctity of life is for all tongues, peoples, and nations.”
Blessings on your day as you focus on making your house a home!
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