In our midweek services, we have been doing topical messages on issues Christians face in our culture. We have been considering what God’s word teaches us about the sanctity of human life. The humanist and the nature worshipper, as well as some of the Eastern religions, tend to elevate to the level of sacred, all living things, while often tending to reduce the sanctity of human life. One can observe this in our own culture. In example, any account of the abuse of an animal invariably receives more attention and more public outcry than the abuse of a child or a senior citizen does. Fox news this week carried an extensive report of the stoning of a crocodile in a zoo in Tunisia. There will be a greater response to this story than of any of the regular attacks of Islamic extremists upon people in that same country.
It is God’s word which has revealed to us the sanctity of human life above that of plants and animals. We see that life begins at conception, as Psalm 139 tells us in detail. Science has caught up, and now affirms that life does indeed begin there. Job acknowledged that the time of our life belongs to God and not to ourselves, as we saw from Job chapter 1, 3 and 6. Job was in such agony of body, soul and spirit, that he longed for his life to end. Yet, he did not even consider suicide or assisted suicide. The last chapter of Job shows us God is wiser than we are about the time of our life. Yes, there is a sanctity about human life, because only mankind is created in the image of God. We are not to worship life, but rather the Giver of that life.