Sanctity of Life...

This has always been a big debate between Christians and Unbelievers. Pro-life or Pro-choice. I want to share with you some bits and pieces from our pastors sermon a few weeks ago. These thoughts are not mine, but come from the heart of a man of God, and more importantly, come from the Bible.

Love = an intentional action which counters all forms of hatred, indifference, and violence towards anyone, with the love that they have received from God through Christ.

Hate = the devaluing or indifference of human life.

1 John 3:11 commands us to love one another. Verse 16-18 tells us how to do that.

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."

The Sanctity of Life involves WAY more than just the topic of Pro-life vs. Pro-choice. It has everything to do with love vs. hate. The Sanctity of Life is not an idea to protect just the unborn. It is to protect and value ALL life. So things like racism, salvery, abuse/neglect of children and elderly, and pornography are all issues that deal with the devaluing of God's finest creation.

It boils down to hate and selfishness. A friend of mine quoted on facebook, "Since when did our 'choice' hold value over 'human life?'" He said this in reference to abortion, but how true is that for the way that Christians and non-Christians alike choose to hate and devalue the life of another. I find it interesting that many Christians (including myself) think, "Well yeah, I love others. I'm not mean, I would never hurt a fly." But the kicker is in verse 17 above for me... indifference is included as a form of hatred. Choosing to do nothing about a person in need is devaluing their life and is therefore, hatred. Dang...

I just recently read a debate on facebook between some mutual friends. There was about 45 comments worth of arguments defending pro-life or pro-choice. It was very sad to me that someone would have so much hatred and bitterness built up that they felt their rights or choices were more important than someone that God created. Yet at the same time, it saddens me when Christians spend more time and energy trying to prove they are right than they do loving those who are lost. In the definition of love that I typed earlier in this post it said that love is an action that counters hatred "with the love they have received through Christ." Why would you expect someone to be "pro-life" if they have not received love through Christ?

I'm not saying that we as Christians shouldn't speak against abortion or racism or any of those other issues. We are most definitely called to stand up for the justice of others. But the root of the problem is not found in the depths of a debate on abortion. The root of the problem is that we cannot truly love others unless we have experienced the unconditional love of Jesus Christ.