Celebrate Life!

The unborn, elderly, disabled, terminally ill, have they become a burden to society or do they have some intrinsic value of their own? When we hear terms like abortion, euthanasia, physician assisted suicide, what do these communicate to people about the value of human life?
Many Christians do not understand the impact that Christianity has had on human history. When we are talking about Christianity, of course, we are talking about the life and person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

In pre-Christian history there were whole people groups that were not considered to be fully human beings. As a result they were enslaved, murdered, raped, and treated like property and not like people. Judaism brought to the world the idea that all human beings are made in God’s image, regardless of their race, sex, mental, or physical condition. This is why it is so important that we understand our Judeo-Christian values as a nation.

It was Christianity that brought to the world the idea that all human beings are equal in dignity. It is not that all people are the same, but they all enjoy certain basic rights because they are people. It is important, when we talk about people being created equal in dignity, that we understand that this does not mean all men have the same advantages in life. Some are strong, some are weak, some are beautiful and some are not, etc. But all human beings, by virtue that they are people, have certain rights and responsibilities.

When we talk about the sanctity of human life, we must be careful not to be distracted by peripheral issues. In the public arena we can debate-

sexual sin versus moral purity,
pro-life versus pro-abortion issues,
euthanasia versus prolonging life though life support,
the morality of physician assisted suicide, and more.

But the real question we should be asking is not what you or I think about these issues, but what does God say about the sanctity of human life? What does God’s Word communicate to us about the value of human life? It is not a question of what you or I feel or think.

God’s Word has a very high view of man. According to Genesis 1:26-27, man is the only creature in all of God’s creation that was made to reflect God’s glory. If you want to show people what God is like, there is no creature you can look at other than man, with all of his problems. When we look at mankind we can certainly see how far he has fallen because of sin. Yet the truth is still the truth, that man was created a living image of God and was created to reflect His majesty on the earth.

God celebrates life in all its phases and in all its forms, and so should we. All life comes from God, including our own, and we should rejoice in the value of human life.

Do you value life? Do you see your own life as precious and valuable in the eyes of God. What about the life of the unborn child, the elderly, or the mentally or physically disabled?