LifeDate Fall 2024 – Hope and a Future
by Pastor Robert Mohns
Your life matters—from conception to natural death to eternity.
As I write this, it is springtime out west, and signs of new life are beginning to appear. This is despite very trying times: Drought conditions on the prairies and a hard, untimely frost have done their best to prevent new life from appearing.
And it’s not just the weather that has sought to prevent life from appearing; we live in a world of death-lust. As of this writing, almost 34,000 abortions have taken place in Canada. We live in a part of the world which has one of the highest death rates by Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in the world. Our neighbors in Nunavut have one of the world’s highest suicide rates (82 deaths per 100,000). We live in a time in world history when the term genocide is used more often than at any other time in history.
Many of you know the ancient story from the first book of the Bible, how from the very first temptation that human beings faced, our desire has always been to choose the pathway that leads to death. It is the pathway that seeks to strip human beings not only of life, but also of their worth. That old evil foe would have you and me believe that life is worthless. We are tempted to repeat those words to one another. In our fear, anger, hatred, and anxiety, we have treated others as though they are dead to us.
God has a better word to speak to us in our day: “The life I give is sacred. The life I give has infinite and eternal worth. Each and every life matters to Me.”
The revelation of sacred Scripture tells us that our good and gracious God created the world and every living thing through His Word. It reminds us that He formed human beings from the elements of the earth, breathed into them His own life-giving Spirit. It reminds us that life is a gift given by our good and loving God. So, we can say that life is a sacred thing. All of it, from beginning to life’s natural end, and even into eternal life.
Hear again what sacred Scripture says, that God “formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13).
Concerning life’s end, St. John records that he “heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!’” (Revelation 14:13). And again, Jesus declares in John 11:25: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live.”
All life is sacred. Your life is sacred. Every life has infinite worth and eternal value. Your life matters—from conception to natural death to eternity. The psalmist declares:
“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:14).
God sent His Son, Jesus, as the antidote to our death-lust. Jesus’ incarnation, perfect life, obedience, suffering, death, and His resurrection have redeemed us from the empty way of life. On the cross, Jesus, true man and very God, was put to death! His last words were: “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit” (Luke 23:46). His body was placed into a tomb.
Three days later, He rose from the dead. He died and was raised to life in order to bring an end to sin and death and to silence the voice of the devil who seeks to rob you and all human beings of their worth.
In your Baptism, God has brought you from death to life. He has given your life His infinite worth, and He has sealed it with the blood of His Son. Jesus is the antidote to death-lust—not only yours but the world’s. Jesus says:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
Friend, you have a good word to speak to your neighbor. You have God’s Word of life to share—with your spouse, your children or grandchildren, your co-worker or friend. You can tell them that their life is sacred, a gift of God, and that their life matters to you.
As you walk the path of life with your neighbor, learn and celebrate the depth and breadth of the infinite worth of their life—whether they are preborn, homeless, destitute, dying, friend, or foe. Learn, through the trials set before you and the sacrifices you make to improve the life of your neighbor, the awesome worth of life. Life is sacred. Every life matters.
Rev. Robert Mohns is Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC)’s West Regional Pastor.