There is nothing in this world that carries greater value than human life. When there is some tragedy, like an airplane crash, a fire, a shooting, a tornado, an earthquake, or a war, the devastation is first measured by the loss of life. The relationships we share with those who have been taken from us cannot be measured in dollars and cents. Such tragedies are emotional events that carry immediate and long-term effects.
Human life is precious. It is a gift from God. In life, we see the presence of God. How do we know this? God tells us in His Word. God is pro-life. After all, He created us. Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created man in His own image. He repeats those same words in Genesis 9:6.
THE VALUE OF THE ORIGN OF LIFE
Just when does life begin? Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, says that when life begins is up to whoever is running your state government. Whether they are right or wrong, whether you agree or not, it is a matter of state law. Some states say cardiac activity detectable by ultrasound is the beginning of life. Others say it begins at fertilization. Others say it is somewhere in between.
Some people say life begins when you begin to breathe, and they use Genesis 2:7; “Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” This Scripture proves that God breathed life into Adam, but God created Adam full grown. He did not come from the womb. Of course, He breathed life into him.
Consider Job 31 verse 15. Job says that God made him in the womb and fashioned us in the womb. David, in his praise for God in Psalm 139, says, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” He says we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Jeremiah proclaims of the Father, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you…” (Jeremiah 1:5). Isaiah declares that the Lord said he formed Isaiah from the womb to be his servant (Isaiah 49:5).
Does God value life in the womb? No matter what the state governments say, no matter what the Supreme Court says, the Bible says “yes” He does. He says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward” (Psalm 127:3).
In whose hands is our eternal destiny, the government or God’s? God has given us the answer to the question that continues to plague our world.
GOD’S VALUE OF LIFE
Do you ever ask yourself, “Does God care about me? Do I matter? Am I of any value?” Once again, we need only to look to God’s Word for the answer. “…you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you…” (Isaiah 43:4). Paul speaks of individuals as treasures in jars of clay (Second Corinthians 4:7).
Not only do some challenge the beginning of life, but they also challenge life after birth. There is much discussion about the right of one man to take the life of another. Some struggle with wanting to end their own life. For those without God, the case for ending life, for whatever reason, is of no consequence.
Two passages of Scripture come to mind immediately. The first is found in First Corinthians 3:16-17. Here, Paul says that we are the temple of God. The Spirit of God dwells in man; and, if one destroys the temple, God will destroy him. He also says that the temple of God is holy.
The second passage is found in First Peter 2:5. Peter says that we are living stones living in a spiritual house. His plan for us is that we be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.
There is reference in these two passages to the temple and the priesthood. These had been vitally important to the Jews, but Paul and Peter were speaking, not of the physical temple and priests, but about our bodies and the collective body, the church.
Under the old law, God commanded that anyone who sacrificed their son or daughter in idol worship was an abomination to the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:10). Later, King Manasseh actually caused his children to walk through fire and burned them alive in sacrifice to a man-made idol. Many Old Testament Scriptures attest to God’s warnings concerning ending someone’s life. When we end a life, we are playing God. Only God has that right.
LET’S DRAW SOME CONCLUSIONS
Many questions man had for years are answered in Scripture, and man sought the answer from other sources, only to have to admit that the answers were right there all along in God’s Word. One of those questions was about the importance of blood in the body. As far back as ancient Egypt, man believed that bloodletting was a treatment for many illnesses. Hippocrates believed good health required the practice of bloodletting. Marie-Antoinette was a patient of bloodletting, and George Washington’s life was cut short because he was drained of five to seven pints of blood in less than sixteen hours. Blood was thrown away, because the doctors thought it was of no value. Had they read Leviticus 17:14, they would have known the answer. “For the life of every creature is its blood; its blood is its life.”
The same can be said of the preciousness of life. One only has to read the Bible to know that God values life and that God is pro-life. Paul says in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
If you want to know more about the preciousness of your life, join us this Sunday as we study from God’s Word. You will hear what God says, not what man says.
Sandra Oliver