Most of us have heard, and many of us have sung, Jesus Loves the Little Children. Perhaps you can sing along right now whether aloud or silently, if you fear you can’t carry the tune (though that didn’t stop me one Sunday).
Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world,
Red and yellow, black and white
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.
Simple song, big assertion! A very bold claim is made in this song. Jesus does not love SOME of the children of the world. He doesn’t love MANY, or MOST but ALL the children of the world. Of course, this is not merely the lyrics of a children’s song; it is the testimony of God’s Word, Jesus loves the little children, ALL the little children of the world.
EVERYONE (not some, not most, and not many) is precious in God’s sight. After all, everyone is a creation of God. Hence, life is sacred. The sanctity of human life:
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It is not just a slogan—it’s a doctrine.
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It is not just an assertion—it is a confession.
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It is to be something that we do not merely reflect upon annually but act upon daily.
Life is INTRINSICALLY sacred; for it is God’s creation, God’s gift, and God’s doing. That means that no one can mope, “God loves them more than me.” Nor can anyone claim, “God loves them, more than them, or more than you!”
God doesn’t love Lutherans more than the Baptists. He doesn’t love Americans more than Afghanis. God does not love conservatives more than liberals or vice versa; girls more than boys or vice versa. He doesn’t love Saints more than sinners, nor Vikings for that matter. He doesn’t love those at the pulpit more than those in the pew. He doesn’t love Angels more than … Yankees. Now I don’t understand that last one, I just know it to be true.
Jesus not only proclaimed the sanctity of life—He granted dignity to the living. Think of the ways Jesus elevated those He spent time with that were from the outskirts of society.
There was the woman at the well. She was forced to draw water when no one was around so that she could escape the jeers and glares of the self-righteous and eager to judge.
There were the lepers. They knew full well their lot in life. They saw their flesh decay daily; they lived segregated from family and society alike. As if that were not enough they were forced to identify their affliction when they ventured out of the colony by calling attention to their plight, “Unclean, unclean, unclean.”
Yet, Jesus didn’t stay on the other side of the street; He reached out to them in love and touched them with His hand when He could have simply healed them with a word from a distance. After all, that is how He healed the Roman Centurion’s servant. The Centurion was an invader and an occupier, yet when he pleaded for Jesus’ action he simultaneously acknowledges his unworthiness and Jesus’ power to get the job done without ever making a personal appearance. “Such faith I have not seen in any of Israel’s Sons.” Jesus over and over again granted dignity to the living.
Life is intrinsically sacred but it is intentionally dignified. The sanctity of life is intrinsically possessed for it is God’s creation. The dignity of life, however, is intentionally afforded by human action.
I read a story last fall about the Cowboy’s quarterback, Tony Romo. On his way to the movie box office on a hot Texas night, he saw a homeless man panhandling for change. Romo asked him what he was going to do with the money. The man said, “I’m gonna go in the theater and get out of this heat.” “Come on,” the quarterback said, “I’ll buy you a ticket.” He took the man to the concession stand as well. The man was very touched, thanked Romo earnestly, and then started to walk away. “Where you going?” said the quarterback. “I got a ticket too we’ll sit together.” As if a leper forced to call out his condition the man pitifully said, “I stink you don’t want to sit by me.” “You’ve obviously never been in an NFL locker room,” Romo replied. Then they watched the movie together. The gift given that man that day was more than a momentary escape from torridity; it was the gift of dignity.
Jesus cares for life at all stages; we are called to do the same. We are called to see it protected in the womb and see it supported in the world. The Church is called to stand up for the ALL of God’s children, from the unborn to the underprivileged. While doing the former we dare not abort our calling to the latter. While we do the latter we must assert it flows from our understanding of the former. The sanctity of human life is intrinsically possessed for it is God’s creation. The dignity of human life is intentionally afforded through our actions in response to who “ALL” are—people precious in His sight.
Source: Bethany Bullet, Bethany Lutheran Church, Long Beach, California. Reprinted in LifeDate (Summer 2010).