Life in Abundance (encore)

Life Matters

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly" (John 10:10 NET).

"Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb. All the days ordained for me were recorded in your scroll before one of them came into existence" (Psalm 139:16 NET).

"You must stand up in the presence of the aged, honor the presence of an elder, and fear your God. I am the LORD" (Leviticus 19:32 NET).

Photo by Matt Bennett on Unsplash

I recently saw in the news that nine states in the US have legal physician-assisted suicide (California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington). I suppose this shouldn’t have been a surprise since we live in a nation that continually devalues human life in every way imaginable—from the unborn to the aged and in between. Our society tells us that unborn human beings are nothing but blobs of tissue that should be removed like a wart if the mother doesn’t want to keep what’s growing in her womb. But anyone who’s seen an ultrasound knows better, which is one reason why Planned Parenthood opposes requiring ultrasounds before abortion. It’s bad for their business. We glorify the violent taking of human life in movies, music, and especially violent video games in which players are given bonus points for gruesome kills. We reduce women to nothing more than sex objects to be used for pleasure and then discarded in a porn industry that generates more money each year than professional basketball, football, and baseball combined. We disregard the elderly as old and out of touch, discounting their wisdom as too dated to be relevant and confining them to nursing homes where many only live a few months before they die.

Ours is truly a culture of death. Since the value of human life is wrapped up in the value of God, if we reject God, we have no basis for valuing human life. Celebrities and societal leaders say that abortion is liberation for women, violence in media and games is harmless even to children, pornography is art, and the old should be discarded. Those who make these claims are the thieves Jesus describes in John 10:10. They claim to offer something good, but in the end, their way leads to death. Their agendas steal, kill, and destroy the most vulnerable at both ends of the spectrum of life. In my opinion, the abortion industry, the porn industry, graphic violence in media, and physician-assisted suicide are hotspots of demonic activity in our society. These are spiritual battles, not just political ones.

The Bible does not endorse a political party, ideology, platform, or economic theory. But make no mistake; the Bible is unequivocally pro-life in every sense of the word. From the unborn baby to the single mom, from the poorest orphan to the wealthiest businessman, from young adults in their physical prime to the oldest and most feeble among us, whether disabled or robust, healthy or sick. The Bible affirms the priceless value of every human life, and Jesus gave his own life to save them all. Unlike our culture of death, Jesus came to bring life—abundant life, everlasting life. Jesus is the source of life and the meaning of life. To worship Jesus is the purpose of life. Belonging to Jesus is the joy of life.