Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

I was made in God's image.

Genesis 1:26-27

Then God said, ”Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth..” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created them.

All human beings have worth

That all human beings are made in the image of God is the basis of human dignity and of human rights. The unborn cannot speak for themselves. Our text teaches that the Lord would have us speak and act on their behalf for to do so is one of the important ways in which we exercise the dominion God has given us over the earth and all the living things upon it, including our fellow human beings, including the unborn. This responsibility is given as a command, and calls for obedience and faithfulness. It is a truth not merely to be accepted and believed, but to be put into practice.

From the earliest days of the Christian Church the unborn child was considered a neighbor; made in the image of God and worthy of the respect and compassion we owe all neighbors. Thomas Jefferson drew on this truth in the Declaration of Independence affirming, “all men are created equal.” More recently, in his Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul II upheld this fundamental affirmation of human dignity.  Until all human beings, and the unborn in particular, are recognized as being made in God's image, the struggle for universal human rights will go on.

To de-legitimize abortion and to elevate the unborn into full acceptance among the human family will be a long and arduous struggle, not unlike the struggle against slavery and racism. As Christians, we are committed for as long as the struggle may take.  It is a matter of truth; for the dignity of the unborn, and of every other human being regardless of race or condition, is apparent to anyone with eyes to see.

O Lord, open the eyes of the blind to the reality and the worth of the unborn. Give to your faithful people the courage and wisdom to endure in this ongoing struggle to bring them fully into the acceptance of the whole human family.  We pray this in the name of Christ our Lord. Amen.

Rev. John Brown