Word of the Week: Life
I missed everyone on Sunday but thanks to those who found our Facebook live sermon and gave me a lot of encouragement. It is on the Grace Community Church (Cville) page, and the audio will be posted on our resources page.
Every year two events nearly overlap. The nation celebrates the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and remembers a Supreme Court decision (Roe vs. Wade). In my thinking there is a great Biblical doctrine that informs my thinking about both. The Latin phrase is “imago dei” which means, “image of God.” Human beings are made in the image of God. We believe that truth informs everything we think about human life. It has an intrinsic worth and value because even in its fallen state, human life bears the mark of the creator and the spark of the divine.
Dr. King’s life and legacy are important because black Americans were both legally and culturally treated as sub human. They lacked the same rights and privileges as other Americans. They had separate schools, bathrooms, and restaurants. They had their own place to sit on public buses. They were regarded as less human than others, and treated as such.
Prejudice is as old as humanity, but it is a denial of a basic teaching of scripture. We are all image bearers of God. So, it is right for us to consider our own hearts, and see where we consider other humans less than us because of their race or ethnicity. None of us are exempt!
The Roe vs. Wade decision devalued human life in the womb. It disallowed the special treatment of the unborn by state governments and at least initially, legalized abortion in all 50 states for all 9 months of pregnancy. Many American Christians don’t see this the same way, because of the libertarian streak in many of us. They are personally opposed to abortion, but believe government should sit on the sidelines legally.
Let me invite your rethinking about abortion. Here is where the two issues come together. Do some research on this: How many aborted babies are African Americans? What percentage of Down Syndrome babies are aborted in the US now? What did the founders of Planned Parenthood think about minorities and the poor? The results of your research will shock and confound you. Some humans are sub human even still today.
Prayer is the first and right response. God break our hearts! Help us see human life as valuable and meaningful! The political path forward is uncertain and the past involvements of Christians in the political arena leave a lot to be desired. But there may be ways to influence the future, encouraging adoption and providing resources to single moms, as the Pregnancy Centers of Central VA does.