The Gift of Life

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - that to secure these rights, governmnets are instituted among men . . ." The Declaration of Independence, 1776

The gift of life, given to us by God, is one of the most precious and fundamental rights that all human beings have, not just Americans. We have been created by our all-wise Creator, in the very image of God, to bear His likeness and reveal His glory. We are not the product of an evolutionary process and thereby relegated to animal status. Rather, we have been "fearfully and wonderfully made" according to Psalm 139. As a created being, we have purpose and meaning in our life. If we were just a higher form of animal (which we are not), then our life would only be lived for the here and now, without purpose or meaning. To take the life of another would be an action relative to our own personal wants and desires. If a baby is unwanted, abort it. If an elderly person outlives their usefulness to society, assist them in ending their life. By abortion and euthenasia we have proclaimed ourselves as god in determining who should live and who should not. Even more, let us cheapen the value of life by indulging ourselves in pornography or the promotion of unnatural lifestyles such as homosexuality, lesbianism, beastiality and other such perverse practices. After all, life is about me, what I want, what I like, and how I can be happy. There is no such thing as absolute truth. We can just live any way we please and who is to say that we are wrong? All these ideas are a result of our misunderstanding of the true meaning of life. The reason we have abandoned the idea of absolute truth is that we do not want to face the truth, so we ignore it or suppress it. We have rejected the Word of God as truth by removing it from our schools and making it, and the principles it espouses, the object of our ridicule and crude humor. We do not acknowledge God as the giver of life because then we would have to admit that we are responsible to Him for the way that we live. If there is a Creator, then I must have been created for a purpose and I might not like what that purpose is. If I was created in the image of God, then I would have to admit that life does not center around me, my wants, my desires, my indulgences, but around Him. But truth does not change. God is the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of this universe. All things were made by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:15-17). God's Word is forever settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89). Man, though made in the image of God, sinned against God and is in need of a Savior or he will ulimately stand before God in judgement, (Romans 3:23; Hebrews 9:27) But that which gives us hope, inestimable value and purpose in life is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, left the glories of heaven to come to this earth and take upon Himself the form of a servant. He then died a substitutionary death on the cross for you and me to pay the penalty and bear the judgement for our sin. Then, by the power of God, was raised from the dead on the 3rd day, rising triumphant over sin, death, and the grave so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Those who turn from their sin and trust Christ alone for their salvation recieve the gift of etrnal life. (Romans 6:23) You see, God's design for man is not death, but life. He has showed us the value He places on life by what He has done for us. Our forefathers recognized this. It would do us well to recognize it to by living our lives to the glory of the Lord of Life, Jesus Christ. Happy Easter! He is risen indeed!!!