In biblical terms, the sanctity of human
life is rooted and grounded in creation. Humankind is not viewed as a cosmic
accident but as the product of a carefully executed creation by an eternal God.
“For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I
praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;…” (Psalm 113:13,14a
NIV) Human dignity is derived from God. A human being is a finite, dependent,
contingent creature, assigned a high value by our Creator.
The creation account in Genesis provides
the framework for human dignity: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make humankind in Our
image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of
the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the
wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the
earth.’ So God created humankind in His image, in the image of God He created
them; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:26–27 NRSV).
Creation in the image of God is what
sets humans apart from all other creatures. The stamp of the image and likeness
of God connects God and humankind uniquely.
-- adapted from R.C. Sproul, the Ligonier.org blog
#4257
“For You created my inmost being; You knit me
together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm
139:13 NIV)
Think about how God knit you together in your
mother's womb. Our Father uses such a tender illustration of how He lovingly,
and carefully created our being. He could have blasted us together, or snapped
His fingers and we would have appeared, but He chose a more delicate process in
which He could be intimately involved as He formed us in our mother’s
womb... knit one, pearl two, knit one, pearl two.
Stitch by stitch, loop by loop, each one of our
parts was delicately and carefully crafted by Almighty God. Your life is not
the product of an impersonal evolution, but the result of a loving Father, who
planned your creation before the foundations of the world, and took the time to
knit you together in your mother's womb. You are a masterpiece, and your very
existence brings much joy to your Father's heart.
--
Barry Adams in “Father's Love Letter”
#4251
NOTE: On some calendars this Sunday,
January 20, is referred to as "Sanctity of Human Life Sunday," and on
other calendars it is called "Human Relations Day." This coming
Monday, January 21, in addition to being Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and the US
Presidential Inauguration, it is also
the birthday of our son, Dustin. As I was thinking about all of that, I
recalled something I had shared here before that I felt worth repeating at this
time.
STANDING UP
As
a few of you know, our son, Dustin, in whose memory this SOUND BITES Ministry™
was founded in 1999, had many disabilities, both physical and cognitive. He
could not walk on his own, he could not feed himself, and he could not talk.
But he made a difference in the lives of many, many people before his death in
1998. And he continues to do so today in a variety of ways, including SOUND BITES.
A
number of years ago one of our nephews was part of the audience at his high
school in a classroom debate on
abortion. A panelist stated, "If you knew your child was never going to be
able to walk or speak, and would only live 15 or 16 years, you'd want to have
an abortion." Someone else on the panel replied with a generic rebuttal
and then my nephew politely raised his hand.
In relating the story to me, he wrote, "I told him that
he had perfectly described my cousin. I told him my cousin, Dustin, had never
walked, never spoken, and died when he was 16. I told him I was very insulted
that he had argued that my cousin, and the world, would have been better off if
my aunt had killed him before he was born… People just assume that no one
really knows a person like Dustin, they treat them like figments of our
imagination, and they argue that they are worthless. But as soon as someone
comes along who knew someone like, or is like Dustin, they seem to have nothing
to say."
Thanks
to my nephew for standing up for his cousin, who couldn't stand on his own. As
my sister-in-law wrote afterward, "And the ripples from Dustin's life go
on and on..."
--
Rev. David T. Wilkinson
#3145
