At what point does life have value? How we answer this question affects every aspect of our culture.
On a daily basis we are all faced with new realities into the world we live in. I know we all can agree that the year of 2020 has been challenging as well as eye opening. The stark differences in people’s mindsets have never been more obvious. And if there has ever been a time of needing to know what we believe, and why, it’s now. That’s why I’d like to dive into the topic of abortion.
This is a topic that has been dominating the culture and political conversation for many decades and is understandably difficult to talk about. Rather than avoid the harder issues in our society, which are usually the more consequential ones, I want to embrace the challenge and take them on. There are many opinions on both sides of the argument so I want to preface what I’m going to share by saying I welcome your disagreement. We are on this journey together and my goal here is to help you rationalize what you believe by sharing a perspective you may or may not have considered. Either way, we’re all friends and I’m looking forward to any friendly dialogue this might inspire! This is an essential part of a healthy well rounded life.
So. Once again, here’s the big question:
At what point does life have value?
I want to first give us an analogy that is often used at weddings to symbolize a man & woman becoming one. There are two colors of sand (let’s just say blue & yellow). When you combine both colors into a jar, there is no possible way to separate every grain of sand. You have formed an entirely new color, unique all its own.
I believe that life begins at the moment of conception, once the sperm fertilizes the egg. New life has been created and there is no possibility to separate the two. For me personally, the value of life begins even before conception. I was taught that every baby is a gift from God, regardless of the circumstances which the baby was conceived. Every life is significant in God’s eyes because we were all created in His image.
Genesis 1:27
So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Psalm 127:3-4
Children are a gift from the Lord;
they are a reward from him.
Children born to a young man
are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.
Why do some believe they have the right to try to separate new life that has been created? Why is it that some people believe they have a right to take life through abortion?
I know from this point forward it gets really messy. However, like I said above, it is absolutely necessary to talk about these difficult issues for our own growth & awareness as human beings.
So, I have a question for us all that goes a lot deeper.
What is the cause of abortion? Perhaps if we got down to the root of the issue, there could be lasting change in our society that causes it in the first place. And isn’t the overall goal to make our world a better place?
I sincerely believe that hopelessness and selfishness are the main causes of abortion.
As a mother myself, I fully understand the thoughts that permeate a woman’s mind when she finds out she is pregnant. There are a rainbow of emotions that come with a positive pregnancy test: excitement, nervousness, fear and joy...All of which are completely normal. Something switches inside of a woman once she knows she is carrying a baby within her. Responsibility hits hard at the reality of taking care of another human being.
I have never been in the shoes of a woman who is sincerely struggling to have an abortion or not. My heart grieves for women who are in such a difficult situation that hopelessness consumes them and they see no way out.
The reality is that having children is hard work but the greatest reward. As humans, we are susceptible to wanting the easy way out when life gets hard. We all have a survival instinct that inevitably kicks into gear when trials come. My prayer is that we don’t turn a deaf ear to the value of human life just because life gets hard. I pray that selfishness doesn’t win over in our society. I pray that we choose life because choosing life reaps a great harvest in our community.
If we don’t value life in the womb, how can we truly value life outside the womb? Once we devalue life in the womb, it becomes much easier to justify violations of dignity of life across the society of people.
So, to finish this for today, I want to challenge you.
I challenge you to think about the value of life and where you stand no matter what your story or circumstance. Be bold in your willingness to stop all the other voices around you. You are free to think outside the box of what you have believed up to this point in time.
I’ll leave us with one more question.
What if hopelessness & selfishness was eradicated from our society? How would that change the world we live in?
WRITTEN BY: Benjamin and Hope Noble
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