Life…Just What Does it Mean to You?

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  Genesis 1:27

This past Sunday was Sanctity of Life Sunday when we pause to consider the sanctity or holiness of life view in a culture that, much to our shame, has largely adopted a "quality of life" view. This is not a new view in our country, nor is it a new struggle. 

As Christians we affirm our belief that human life is of inestimable worth and significance in all its dimensions, including the unborn, the aged, the widowed, the mentally handicapped, the unattractive, the physically challenged and every other condition in which humanness
is expressed from conception to the grave. We believe life is sacred.

All human life is precious and to be protected because humans alone bear the image of God.  These words in Genesis form the biblical and theological bedrock for the sanctity of life.   There's something extraordinary here that is seen only in reference to the creation of man and to nothing else. The Godhead - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -deliberated among themselves before the creation of man.  God not only created the first pair and made them living souls; he continues to give each human being a living soul. There are two views of how God accomplishes this.

Being made in the image of God means that in our nature and personality; in our moral and spiritual capacities; in our emotions, intellect, conscience, and will; in our functions and actions we stand apart from the rest of creation.  Only human beings are given this status. Not even the angels are made God's image bearers and most certainly not the animals.

In God’s eyes, we are each endowed with a touch of Himself.  Each human carries within his or her being the likeness of the Creator. Therefore, each human life exists as an expression of God and His character.  The image of God in humankind provides direction and guidance regarding how we treat one another.

Men, women and children created in God’s image should be respected,
regardless of their mental capacity, physical ability,
faith (or absence of faith) or social position.

Every human life, Christian or not, is sacred and of inestimable value because each life is created in the image of God. The likeness of Yahweh is impressed upon each human spirit.  Human dignity is an innate value, bestowed on us by God by being made in His image. It is not based on the ability to care for ourselves or competence to complete a task.

Dignity is not a characteristic we can forfeit —
it is an inseparable attribute woven into the fiber of our being.

We hold to a biblical view of the sanctity of life because of what a "quality of life" ethic does to those who hold it.  Individuals have desecrated the sanctity of life by replacing it with a “quality of life” ethic that leads to ever broader, ever looser, and ever more subjective determinations of what constitutes a quality life or a life worthy of life.

Have we aborted others in our society by casual disregard and even discrimination of some humans thus desecrating the sanctity of their lives?  We should examine our hearts for attitudes toward our fellow humans that violate the spirit of the Sanctity of Human Life ethic.  We must struggle against the subtle ways we dishonor or fail to acknowledge the intrinsic worth of each individual.  And above all, we need to teach the next generation a respect for all human life.  The challenge to us as Christians is to move the culture toward a reestablishment of the sanctity of human life ethic by our example and standing for what is right, true, and biblical. 

Scripture to Claim:

Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy. Proverbs 31:8-9