Sanctity of Human Life
The Sanctity of Human Life is the theme for our ThinkBible.online blogs in January. If my goal is to help women understand God’s Word and His plan for our lives, then I figure we ought to start with just that - what God’s Word says about His plan for our lives.
Sadly, in our world today, human life is regarded as nothing different or more special than the lives of animals or the existence of plants, water, or dirt. In fact, human life is often regarded as lower than, or less important than, any of these things. That line of thinking can be directly traced back to the theory of evolution. It is a false theory; there is no evidence supporting it, although millions are taught its validity each day in public schools across the land. The “facts” which support it have been twisted and manipulated to give credence to the philosophy - actually, the religion - which humanists and atheists want: all life is random, without purpose, except survival. Evolution is more a system of death than life.
On the other hand, the Bible tells us that God created all things, and that He created them in an orderly fashion, with a structure and purpose behind each of His creations. What a difference this perspective makes in the lives of women!
Since God created women, then we have a particular role in His economy. We are not here simply to be ruled or mistreated by men, nor are we here to be their rulers. We are here to help fulfill God’s design for all mankind.
Since God created women and gave them the gift of childbearing, then becoming a mother is one of His highest callings on our lives, not a burden, frustration, annoyance, or obstacle to doing what we really want to do.
Since God created women, then He has specific tasks for each of us to carry out in His eternal plan. Those tasks may range from the mundane and unnoticed, to the grand and visible. But everything we do in agreement with His plan is valuable, worthy, and important.
These conclusions lend themselves to specific applications, as well.
Abortion and euthanasia become tragedies, the murders of innocent lives, rather than convenient escapes from a difficult, unwanted situations.
People are viewed as unique creations, made in the image of God and loved by Him, rather than as annoyances, frustrations, or interruptions to life.
People with special needs are viewed as valuable and worthy of love, affection, help, and attention, rather than weird, different, or worthless.
Homosexuality is recognized as a distortion of God’s good and perfect plan for His creation, rather than an “expression of personal truth.”
Immorality of all kinds is viewed as sin, as it is inconsistent with God’s design for the family and individuals, rather than a cultural revolution or personal choice.
Let’s look at what God’s Word specifically says about our lives - how and why He created us.
Genesis 1:26-27 records God’s creation of mankind.
First, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Humans are the only creations about which God said this. The others - fish, fowl, animals, plants, stars, planets, etc. - were created by Him, but not like Him. This alone is enough to prove that humans are created differently than anything else. God made us in His image.
The verse goes on to say, “and let them (man) have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” God didn’t just put man on the same planet as all of the animals; He gave mankind the dominion over those things. “Dominion” in context means “to rule or subjugate.” And so we see that man was given the rule, the authority over the animals and plants. Those things were created by God to serve and help mankind.
The very end of verse 27 tells us that God created two unique divisions of human - male and female. I remember as a student in school, our teachers would often point out that men and women are different. And all of us students thought, “Well, duh!” It seems so obvious. But when we remove God and the Bible from our thinking, even foundational, obvious truths like this are called into question. Men dressing and living as women. Women dressing and living as men. Sex change surgeries. All of it is complete madness and would be avoided if we would just live as God has designed. (By the way, even when someone has a sex change surgery, their DNA is not changed. You cannot legitimately change sexes. You will always be one or the other, just the way God created you.)
Genesis 2:7 tells us a little more detail about God’s creative process.
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
The other creations of God - the planets, animals, plant life, etc. - were created ex nihilo or, “out of nothing.” God simply spoke and these things came into being. But man was created differently. God says that He “formed man from the dust of the ground.” So God used something already created - dust - to form this new creature, mankind.
And then the verse says that God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” God’s breath is what gives us life. Without His breath, there is no life. Therefore, it is obvious that God is the One Who controls life and death.
We all know that we can’t force a body to be alive, no matter how much we’d like to. Even the best medical professional in the world can only try to keep a man alive. Sometimes their artificial methods work; sometimes they don’t. In the end, it really is up to God. Likewise, to attempt to take a human life before God has deemed that person’s appointed time of death is murder and is in direct contradiction to the will of God. No matter the motive behind the action, it is still an act of pride and selfishness to think that we could ever know better than God when a life should end.
Psalm 139:13-16 also tell us more about our creation.
God says that it is He Who forms us (literally, weaves together our bodies and organs) while we are in our mothers’ wombs. He tells us that each of us is made in a fearful and wonderful way. Fearful in this context means in such a way as to inspire awe and reverence for our Creator. And isn’t that the case? When we learn more about the complexities of the human body, we can’t help but give praise to the One who designed all of the body’s systems to work so seamlessly together. God created our bodies to heal, to fight disease, to reproduce, to grow, and to be a tool for our souls to express our relationship to God.
And wonderful means in a distinct, marked out, unique way. Although every human has the same basic parts and pieces, each of us is still completely unique and different from every other human ever created. This is seen in the astonishing variety of fingerprints, the vast variations of eye color, hair color, skin tone, and specific attributes that we each have, and that’s just covering the physical aspects. Each personality, temperament, talent, and gift also factor into the equation to make an infinite number of unique creations, designed by God.
This passage in Psalms also confirms that God knows His plans and purposes for each life before birth. He has a perfect will for every human being, one that will uniquely point others to Him. Although each plan is different, we can be sure that our God, the One Who knows us best, will utilize each individual’s gifts, strengths, weaknesses, abilities, and disabilities.
And with each one of these details in place, God tells us that He has one overarching purpose for every life He has created: to bring Him glory. Revelation 4:11 sums it up best:
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.”
Why did God make each of us, in His image, male or female, filled with the breath of life, out of the dust of the ground, fearfully and wonderfully, unique, and special? For His glory!
The topic of the Sanctity of Human Life became important to me through the births of our twin daughters. I saw and heard things in the hospital and doctor’s offices that shocked me and woke me up to the wrong thinking that is so common in our world today. Because of that, I have chosen to share the testimony of the girls’ births and our experiences during that life-changing event. I have also asked other friends to share their thoughts about the importance of life this month. More than just Bible study, these articles will be testimonies of unique ways God has taught these truths to various ones. I hope these will be a blessing to you.
And as we read these testimonies throughout the month, I pray that you will give God the glory! Not just for those we will read about, but for your own life, as well. Trace the hand of God and His grace in your story. Write down your blessings. Share them with others, encourage, teach, and remind them of God’s good plan for their lives. And use these opportunities as another way to glorify your Creator!