By Scott Brown
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly
Focal Passage: Gen 1:27, 9:1-7; Matt.5:21-22
The sanctity of life is a beautiful, biblical belief that informs our convictions every life is precious because every life was wonderfully and fearfully made in the image of God.
It’s simple to bang the pulpit one Sunday in January for the sanctity of life but how does it look in our churches every other day?
Sanctity of life demands that we love people more than our grudges and feuds.
The people with whom we disagree and even those we might despise are image bearers of God for whom Christ died and we are compelled to love them as Christ does.
Christ died for that angry person in your church whose funeral might just spark revival.
That politician you just love to hate bears the image of God. Jesus absolutely loves those people who don’t have your skin tone, political leanings, cultural preferences, etc. And, if you love Jesus, you will love them too.
I wonder if we even have the right to call ourselves pro-life while we are not calling out for the end of baby murder (abortion) at the modern day altar of Moloch.
Can we proclaim the sanctity of life while we are unwilling to sacrifice our comfort to house the countless children in need of a family to love them like Jesus?
Scott Brown
Can we say that all have value while there are more slaves today than ever before through sex trafficking and yet we remain silent?
Can we say that every soul is precious while our altars are empty of saints weeping that just one more soul might know Jesus as Lord?
I fear that if we only give lip service and walk away seemingly unaffected at such a time as this that our God will not hold His people guiltless.
How should we respond and what can we do? I don’t know the answer but I am convinced we are God’s plan to see it happen.
Perhaps we begin by praying that God would give us His eyes to see others as He does and His heart to love them as He does.
Perhaps there are many heroes whom God is leading to open their homes through fostering and adoption and change the life of an orphan or give a woman a better option than abortion.
Perhaps God would send a revival that Christians might no longer embrace the increasing sexualization of our society and stop tolerating the pornographic filth we invite in our homes which not only devalues people and destroys families but is the greatest contributing factor to modern slavery.
Perhaps if our altars were full of Christians weeping together over their sin our churches would be filled with the lost being saved.
May God burden His people to kneel together in prayer and then stand together in unity for the value that He gives every life. B&R
