I recently attended a statewide meeting of Baptists that couldn’t adopt a generic resolution to affirm life. This doesn’t reflect me.
For both Biblical and personal reasons, I’m pro-life. There’s a strong scriptural argument for the sacredness of life both before and following birth. Just read Jeremiah 1:5, Galatians 1:15, Psalm 22:10, Psalm 139:13 and Genesis 1:27.
The enlargement of my family is the result of adoption. I’m grateful for a birth mother who chose life instead of abortion.
I have a personal stake in this discussion.
I believe the pro-life debate is larger than the protection of the unborn. It is also about the well being, dignity, care and respect for life. Parents have a responsibility for their children. Children have a responsibly to their parents. Humans have a societal responsibility toward each other. You don’t discount, ignore, disregard or throw away a life.
Life is sacred; life is valued.
Recently, I read Under Our Skin by Benjamin Watson, a response to the fears and frustrations about racism in America. Watson states, “Life. I’m in favor of it. Yes, I am pro-life. And yes, I mean that in its usual sense – that the unborn fetus is a life to be protected. But, I mean that in a different and larger way as well.” [1]
Watson holds a more encompassing pro-life view and so do I. We must protect, value and respect all life.
How can we value the lives of those among us if we’re unable to value the life of the unborn? Every life does matter; this is the gospel.
Maybe when we realize the sacredness of life, we will value life and each other more.
[1] Benjamin Watson, Under Our Skin (Carol Stream: Tyndale Momentum, 2015), 118.
