It is interesting that the third Sunday of January, designated by President Ronald Reagan as “National Sanctity of Human Life Day” should be followed by the third Monday in January which, beginning in 1986, has been set aside to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the minister and civil rights leader who is remembered for his non-aggressive demonstrations for civil and social justice. Throughout our country this past weekend and for the month of January we have peaceful protests and messages preached on the value of human life (which starts at conception). Since the fateful Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision on Jan. 22, 1973 to legalize abortion through the 9th month of pregnancy, more than 60 million babies’ lives have been terminated for any reason. Approximately 4,000 abortions are done daily in the United States. Every 22 seconds a baby dies from abortion. The most dangerous place on earth is in the womb of a mother, for one out of every three babies are killed before the mother gives birth. (If the pre-born is African American, the chance of survival is much less!).
If we say a life is without meaning, we are not saying something about that life so much as we are saying something about ourselves. Norma McCorvey, the original Jan Roe of Roe v. Wade, had a complete change of heart and on Jan. 18, 2005, filed a legal appeal with the Supreme Court to have the decision of 1973 reversed. Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece appeared on Fox News on Jan. 21, 2005 to answer questions about abortion. She had aborted two children in the past and had great remorse over dong so. She realizes what it says to her other children and also that she has a much greater danger of breast and cervical cancer as a result. When asked if she thought it would be right for the government to make abortion illegal or if women should have “free choice,” she replied with an illustration of a recent actual case. She asked, “Why is it murder for a man to hit a pregnant woman in the stomach with a baseball bat, killing her baby, but it would be all right for the woman to kill the baby via abortion?”
In President George W. Bush’s Inauguration Speech on Jan. 20, 2005, he stated: “Americans, at our best, value the life we see in one another, and must always remember that even the unwanted have worth.” If God didn’t have a purpose for us, we wouldn’t be here. It is not a “choice,” it is a life! Every person conceived in the womb is made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26,27) and has inherent value as a unique individual. What does it say about our nation that all the candidates for president enthusiastically approve the right of a woman to have an abortion—for any reason, or no reason—right up to the moment of birth at nine months, and in some cases even after the baby is born? They don’t simply approve it. They celebrate abortion—or as they prefer to call it, “women’s reproductive freedom.” “They insist It is the most enlightened human-rights achievement of our age, and if you disagree, you’re immoral and bent on denying women their constitutional rights” (Whistleblower, Sept. 2019).
From a Christian, biblical viewpoint, we are to view life as God does, which is that life is sacred and valuable from conception to death. Unfortunately, when men ignore or reject the truths of God’s Word, they become “futile in their imaginations and their foolish hearts are darkened. Professing to become wise,they become fools…for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie.” (Ro. 1:21-25). We are suffering from the influence of such men as Charles Darwin and Richard Dawkins and their atheistic, evolutionary (or more correctly, evilutionary) teachings which have become the basis of public education for several generations of our young people. We are reaping what we have sown (Gal. 6:7,8). Human beings are not longer seen as precious creations of God but mere products of blind evolutionary chance.
Doug Nichols, missionary, in considering the presidential campaign in 2016, concluded that, “While some issues affect a country’s safety, prosperity, and greatness, any nation that advocates or even tolerates the destruction of innocents deserves neither safety, nor prosperity, nor greatness. Get this one wrong and your moral compass can guide you in nothing else.” God does not take lightly the abuse of children, let alone the murder of children (Lev. 19:19-23; 2:1-5; Mt. 18:6,10; 19:14). Abortion is an affront to the great heart of the Creator who planned each individual before he or she was ever conceived (Psa. 139:13-16). God said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5; cf Isa. 44:2). Of all the controversies that divide our country at present, none is more frightening or consequential than the controversy over “the sanctity of human life,” for our societal foundations, based on biblical Judeo-Christian ethics, are shaking!
Think of the contribution to society we have missed because of the millions of babies that never reached their destination! Bob and Pam Tebow were missionaries in the Philippines when Pam had to take a series of aggressive antibiotics for amebic dysentery. Then she discovered she was pregnant, and though she immediately stopped taking the antibiotics, the doctors advised an abortion because of the irreversible damage the drugs had presumably caused to the fetus. They said that her own health was also in danger. Bob and Pam, as Christians, knew that it would be wrong to abort the baby, and two months later, the future MVP of the Orange Bowl National Championship and Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Tebow was born! At 6 feet 3 inches and 240 pounds, Tim looks pretty healthy to me! And, in spite of his many accomplishments in sports, His great passion is to share Jesus Christ and he has founded several ministries to do just that—helping thousands.
Mya Dobbins became pregnant when she was 18 years old and went to the doctor thinking about aborting the baby—but changed her mind. That baby turned out to be J.K. Dobbins, whom she calls her “miracle baby,” who this football season moved into second place on the Ohio State Buckeye’s all-time rushing list, was a contender for the Heisman Trophy and led his team to the NCAA playoffs this year.
The world will never know how many millions of similar stories there would have been if more moms had been told the truth— that their babies had value and purpose and potential—not because of what they could do, but because of who their Creator made them to be. Tim Tebow and J.K. Dobbins aren’t special because of their success in football; they are special because they were created in the image of God, who had a plan for their lives. If Martin Luther King, Jr. were still here today, I’m quite sure he would be advocating for the sanctity of life!
Forever His,
Pastor Dave
Wisdom of The Week 