Friends,
Yesterday was Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, one of the most important days of the year, in my estimation...especially given the fact that we live in a world that seems to drift further away from understanding or valuing human life. In trying to teach children the value of coins, they wonder why eight pennies would be worth less than one small dime. If you melt down the pennies and the dime and compare the results the pennies might have more value due to their copper but still a dime is worth more. A dime is no prettier than eight pennies, so why the difference in value? The reason for the difference is that their value is determined by their creator. The U.S. Treasury department says that it takes ten pennies equal one dime. And what is true of coins is true of all creation. So, the ultimate reason why persons are to be valued more than property is not found in their natures but in God's nature. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:26-27). Human life is valuable because God…the Creator of all life…says it is.
Out of all that God created, He designated human life as having the greatest value. Our superiority over the rest of the created order is based on this fact and this fact alone. So, only when we allow God to value creation...as He has the ultimate right in order to do so...do we find a basis for regarding human life as being more valuable than anything else. It is He who has made us…and not we ourselves…and it is He who has made this ethical distinction, not us humans. The Genesis account says that God first created the earth and its atmosphere. Then He created all living creatures that live on earth, in the seas, and in the air above. God appraised this part of His creation by saying that, "...it was good.” But, God wasn't finished. On the 6th day, He created Man – human life. Now, look at Genesis 1:31 and see how God evaluated this part of His creation. He said that human life was not just good…but very good! He said this because human life was the climax all the rest of creation. He stopped creating once He made us…for everything else was made with human beings in mind. We were made by God…we also know that human life has value in that only human beings were created in the image and likeness of God. Finally…human beings are of such inconceivable worth that God sacrificed His own Son so that they could be saved from their sins. This is an estimation of human worth beyond our comprehension. Our value is indicated by the fact that God not only loved us enough to create us in His image, He also loved us enough to pay the unbelievable cost of redeeming us. Romans 5:8 says, "God demonstrates His own love -- He shows how much He values human life in this -- while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." If or when anyone should begin to question just how valuable is the life of a human being, these thoughts need to be considered.
Blessings,
Don
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