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Jesus = Life: Why All Life Is Sacred

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John 14:6 is very familiar to most of us, where Jesus replies to Thomas’ question with the profound statement “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” We may be guilty of skipping over the ramifications of the last part of that statement, where He proclaims that He IS “the life.” It doesn’t say that He creates life (although elsewhere it says that); it doesn’t say that He sustains life (although that is also clearly taught in other passages).

John 14:6 is very familiar to most of us, where Jesus replies to Thomas’ question with the profound statement “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” We may be guilty of skipping over the ramifications of the last part of that statement, where He proclaims that He IS “the life.” It doesn’t say that He creates life (although elsewhere it says that); it doesn’t say that He sustains life (although that is also clearly taught in other passages).

The definition of the word used here means “existence, the antithesis of death,” according to the translators of the NET Bible. So the opposite (antithesis) of death = Life = Jesus.

Genesis 1:27 states that “God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.” Every human being who’s ever walked the earth bears God’s image. That’s clearly established here in the Book of Beginnings; but as is so often the case, the New Testament via the words of Jesus expands our understanding of some of the basic principles set forth in the Old Testament. So in John 14:6, Jesus the Son of God and member of the Trinity who in Gen. 1:26 participated in the decision to “make humankind in our image, after our likeness . . . .” elaborates on what that means. And what He says is that the very existence of human life itself is wrapped up in who Jesus is. You can’t separate Jesus from what life is.

Is it any surprise, therefore, that the destruction of human life is a spiritual issue? Every attack on human life strikes the very image, the reflection, of who God and His Son Jesus are. That’s why the concept known as the sanctity of human life is so basic and so important. When the Enemy convinces a scared young woman to destroy her preborn child, he scores one more strike in his campaign to harm everything God loves.

In Deuteronomy 30:19, God implores His people to choose life, not death, blessing and not curses from the alternatives He’s set before them. (And He’s already said in 30:14 that “the thing is very near you – it is in your mouth and in your mind so that you can do it.”)

Again turning to the New Testament, John 10:10 explains that the thief has only the purpose of stealing, killing, and destroying, while Jesus’ purpose is not only to give life but to give it abundantly. Thus the gospel message builds on the sanctity message, culminating in the promise of Romans 8:29 that those who were foreknown were predetermined to be conformed to the image of Jesus. He thereby restores the image that was marred in Eden in Genesis 3.

Women considering an abortion are, usually without realizing it, a spiritual battleground. In one ear Satan’s messengers are whispering that this isn’t a good time to have a child, that she can always have one later at a “more convenient time,” that she just needs to go ahead and make the tough decision [to abort] for her own sake, the sake of her boyfriend, the sake of her family’s reputation, etc.

In the other ear, God is speaking through her conscience and through His Word, if she allows it to be spoken into the situation by believers who care. He tells her, “I created this little life you’re carrying, just like I created you; and I have a plan for each of you. If you will trust Me, I will provide and care for both of you. No, you won’t know exactly how on the front end, because then that wouldn’t be ‘trust’ – it’d be ‘sight.’ And I relate to my people on the basis of trust.”

And so there is a tug-of-war between the cosmic forces of good and evil that plays out unwittingly in the life of this often panic-stricken young woman. He has set before her life and death, just as Deuteronomy says, and she must choose. Good vs. evil. Trust vs. self-determination.

When destruction of life is chosen, the Enemy wins; when she chooses life, Jesus wins – and so does she.

Related Topics: Man (Anthropology), Women's Articles

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