In Praise Of Life

On a week like this one (with abortion discussions abounding) I’m reminded of the importance of life. And I’m reminded that we should be truly thankful. For our own lives, the lives of our kids, for the life of anyone we know and love, even simply for life itself.

Each of us did absolutely nothing to create ourselves, and yet we are. And the biological reproduction by parents only explains so much. For birth brings forth so much more than physical matter, biological genes, and firing cells. Each baby, each child, each human has an inner self—what we Christians call a soul. A soul given by God. 

What an amazing gift. Psalm 139:13-17 says, 

¹³  For you formed my inward parts; 

you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 

¹⁴  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 

Wonderful are your works; 

my soul knows it very well. 

¹⁵  My frame was not hidden from you, 

when I was being made in secret, 

intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 

¹⁶  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; 

in your book were written, every one of them, 

the days that were formed for me, 

when as yet there was none of them. 

¹⁷  How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! 

How vast is the sum of them! 

How wondrous it is that God formed each one of us. He thought about each one of us. We are individually created by God himself.

While these truths usually escape our notice, they stand out in weeks like this one, when the gift of life is undervalued.

There is plenty more to be said, a lot to be fought for in the public arena, but on a super basic level, let’s make sure we praise the Creator who gives life — not just when other’s don’t, but all the time. 

May we look at our little ones and remember they are precious gifts from God, not a product of our own decision (none of us can create souls as far as I know). Let’s value people around us, even those we don’t particularly like — remembering that they were created by God himself. Let’s value people over projects, and over animals, and over self-centered interests. People are the pinnacle of God’s creation, and we ought to highly value each and every one.

Many say that we live in “a culture of death,” but as Christians, let’s be truly appreciative of life. Let’s shine brightly in these dark days, by being filled with gratitude and joy simply because we are thankful for God’s gift of life.