Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.
I cannot overstate the importance that every person who calls him- or herself a believer in Christ arrives at the Biblical position that all human life is sacred. Holy. Note that it isn't the Sanctity of Canine Life Sunday -- or Feline -- or Bovine -- or Equine -- or Arachnid ---- but the Sanctity of HUMAN Life Sunday. Your Jack Russell Terrier is not holy. If there is such a thing as one of those other Sundays, I'm going to - with all due respect - feign ongoing ignorance.
God said at the start up: "Let Us make male and female in Our image."
Imago Dei.
That doesn't mean God has two blue eyes, a slightly oversized yet tremendously dignified nose, a little graying at the temples and veins that nurses can always easily find (that would be if I was made in His 'image').
But -- we are intellectual creatures. We are moral creatures. We are to have dominion over the created order. God made us a 'little lower than the angels' - ruler over all things - everything under our feet.
He gave us the capacity, like Himself, to love and be loved - to have compassion - mercy - to have and express dignity, value and worth.
He saw us before we were in our mother's womb and created good works in advance for us to do -- before we were ever a seed in anyone's mind but His own.
Because of that, all human life has dignity -- it all has value -- worth. If a sparrow matters -- if lilies matter -- how much more sacred is human life?
Since the decision of Roe v. Wade in 1973, nearly 55 million children have been aborted in our country. That is more than the populations of North & South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana combined.
Think of it.
This is not, at its deepest core, a political issue. This is a God issue. We make it something extremely important to us about once every four years. That's when we get in each other's red faces about it. God cares about it every day.
You've heard me say before - I just said it earlier this week here: Government will not save us - government won't fix this. Utterly impossible. We should, quite frankly, stop putting that pressure on government.
Should we vote? Yes.
Should we have political views? Sure.
But how rabid should we be about all of that compared to how much we just love Jesus?
I've seen two believers in the church lobby 'round about late October in years divisible by 4 yelling (literally) and shoving fingers in each other's faces over abortion/election issues. I have yet to see two people shouting each other down to prove who loves Jesus more.
We don't show the measure of our love for God by our viewpoint on the sanctity of human life one way or the other, however passionate we may be. That's backward. Our position about the sanctity of human life flows from our relationship with Christ.
That's why government and elections (yes, you should vote) will never deliver us. Only our relationship with Jesus will save us. What flows out of that relationship will drive our actions, belief systems, values -- as well as our grace for those who haven't yet seen that light.
Let's pray together that all human life might be valued and become sacred in our country.
(NOTE: If you have had an abortion, there is forgiveness, grace and mercy after-the-fact. There are great, local organizations like CareNet who reach out to women who have had abortions as well as to the men impacted by such decisions. Find more information in the Southeast Wisconsin area at http://www.carenetfamily.org.)
Live …
And be blessed.
I cannot overstate the importance that every person who calls him- or herself a believer in Christ arrives at the Biblical position that all human life is sacred. Holy. Note that it isn't the Sanctity of Canine Life Sunday -- or Feline -- or Bovine -- or Equine -- or Arachnid ---- but the Sanctity of HUMAN Life Sunday. Your Jack Russell Terrier is not holy. If there is such a thing as one of those other Sundays, I'm going to - with all due respect - feign ongoing ignorance.
God said at the start up: "Let Us make male and female in Our image."
Imago Dei.
'If lilies matter -- how much more sacred is human life?'
That doesn't mean God has two blue eyes, a slightly oversized yet tremendously dignified nose, a little graying at the temples and veins that nurses can always easily find (that would be if I was made in His 'image').
But -- we are intellectual creatures. We are moral creatures. We are to have dominion over the created order. God made us a 'little lower than the angels' - ruler over all things - everything under our feet.
He gave us the capacity, like Himself, to love and be loved - to have compassion - mercy - to have and express dignity, value and worth.
He saw us before we were in our mother's womb and created good works in advance for us to do -- before we were ever a seed in anyone's mind but His own.
Because of that, all human life has dignity -- it all has value -- worth. If a sparrow matters -- if lilies matter -- how much more sacred is human life?
Since the decision of Roe v. Wade in 1973, nearly 55 million children have been aborted in our country. That is more than the populations of North & South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana combined.
Think of it.
This is not, at its deepest core, a political issue. This is a God issue. We make it something extremely important to us about once every four years. That's when we get in each other's red faces about it. God cares about it every day. You've heard me say before - I just said it earlier this week here: Government will not save us - government won't fix this. Utterly impossible. We should, quite frankly, stop putting that pressure on government.
Should we vote? Yes.
Should we have political views? Sure.
But how rabid should we be about all of that compared to how much we just love Jesus?
I've seen two believers in the church lobby 'round about late October in years divisible by 4 yelling (literally) and shoving fingers in each other's faces over abortion/election issues. I have yet to see two people shouting each other down to prove who loves Jesus more.
We don't show the measure of our love for God by our viewpoint on the sanctity of human life one way or the other, however passionate we may be. That's backward. Our position about the sanctity of human life flows from our relationship with Christ.
That's why government and elections (yes, you should vote) will never deliver us. Only our relationship with Jesus will save us. What flows out of that relationship will drive our actions, belief systems, values -- as well as our grace for those who haven't yet seen that light.
Let's pray together that all human life might be valued and become sacred in our country.
(NOTE: If you have had an abortion, there is forgiveness, grace and mercy after-the-fact. There are great, local organizations like CareNet who reach out to women who have had abortions as well as to the men impacted by such decisions. Find more information in the Southeast Wisconsin area at http://www.carenetfamily.org.)
Live …
And be blessed.
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