. . . for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23

The Gift of Life. . .

God forbids us from taking life

God desires that we respect and honor His gift of life to us. To safeguard this gift, He has commanded that we shall not murder.

God does not want us to take the life of another or our own life.

• NAB Genesis 9:6 "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.

Abortion

Many people, even Christians, wrestle with this issue. Some of the issues surrounding abortion are not easy ones. What should we do if the mother’s life is in jeopardy? What should we do if the child is badly deformed? And while the Scripture does not speak of these practice in particular, it does give general principles upon which to make our judgments.

• Human life is valued by God.

All children are created in God’s image from the moment of conception.

• NAB Psalm 139:13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb.

• God entrusts the life of our children to our care

God says that another’s life is not ours to take. Exodus 20:13 expressly forbids our taking of life. Children are a trust to us from God.

• We are creatures not creators

Ours is not to make the decisions of God. Often time events happen in life that leave us perplexed and confused. It may seem difficult to choose the right and the wrong. There may be occasions when it seems to serve the greater good to use a forbidden means to achieve that good. But we need to remember that God has set limits to the actions that we may do. Yes, we certainly should strive to make decisions that bring about good, but we need to remember as we decide, we are not God. Certainly the prohibition from killing sets a limit on what we can do and may do.

Sometimes this is the best we can do. Sometimes an unborn child can be a great inconvenience to our plans. Sometimes she may even be a threat to the mother’s life. But as we make our decisions we need to make them out of love and faith and not fear and lack of understanding. For the Lord will bless those who trust Him.

Too many people have experienced that this commandment once broken is final. There is no way to return life to the womb. And yet, the Lord can prosper life even in the most dreadful of circumstances. Some carry inside them the guilt of having made a bad decision. But it is comforting to know that God’s will for each and every child is life with Him. And while we cannot change what has happened to those children lost through abortion, the destiny of these children rests in the hands of our loving God. And for we who remain there is forgiveness and cleansing of guilt. God is a God who does not want us to go through life burdened with guilt. He wants to prosper our life. The first step is His gift of forgiveness. He restores us to Himself. And as we live under the cross by His mercy, we grow in the new life that God brings.

Euthanasia

More and more people wrestle with end of life issues. What means shall we take to extend life? How do we know when to pull the plug? What about the terminally ill? Should we help them to die and spare them pain and suffering? What of those helpless to decide for themselves? Should we make the decision for them?

Again many of the same principals that apply to abortion apply here. We are not God. Our lives rest in His hands even when they turn difficult and become much to bear. God has set limits on us. Murder is the intentional taking of a human life. Such action is not permitted for us. Life and even death are in the hands of God. We have to ask ourselves as we decide end of life issues, are we interfering with God’s plan?

Are we intervening and extending life beyond what God has ordained? Sometimes dramatic life support enables recovery of living and is God working through medicine to bring healing. But we need to remember that sometimes the same technology can tempt us to play God and extend the life that God desires to bring home to Himself.

Likewise, we need to ask ourselves if God truly permits us the freedom to end life before His appointed time even to alleviate suffering. God says we should not murder. We may not understand but again He says do not lean on your own understanding but trust the one who loves us so much that He gave His Son for us all.

• NAB Proverbs 6:16 There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,

• NAB Proverbs 31:8 Open your mouth for the mute, For the rights of all the unfortunate.

• NAB Acts 17:25 . . .  He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;

Suicide

Many times life seems more than we can bear. In the first lesson on this commandment we learned that the beginning of murder is anger. We get angry when something or someone important to use becomes threatened. When we find that which makes us angry seems to have no solution our anger turns in upon itself. For anger without hope becomes depression.

No person is an island without connections to others. Ortega Y. Gassett once wrote "I am myself and my circumstances." Sometimes those circumstances seem like they severely limit what we want or who we want to be. Sometimes there may seem to be no hope in those circumstances. At such times life in this world may seem unbearable. At such times we need to recall that life is a gift of God not to be ended by us, not even my own life. Through the Scripture we learn what perhaps our experience cannot show us. God is always with us and always cares for us. No matter how bad our situation, there is always hope. There is always an open door. For God has promised to care for us. As a shepherd cares for His sheep especially when under attack, so God will care for us especially when life turns difficult. We are never abandoned by God.

• NAB Jeremiah 31:3 . . . , "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.

• NAB Luke 12:22 And He said to His disciples, "For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.

Since suicide is an active sin against God, does that mean that a person dies condemned to never receive the gift of heaven? There is only one unforgivable sin. That of unbelief. Only God is in a position to evaluate an individual’s faith especially at the point of death. Scripture no where proclaims that suicide is an unforgivable sin because it is a final act. For if that were the case, we should all be in danger of hell for we might never know what sin we may be committing even in our thoughts at the point of death. But the blood of Christ covers all who have faith in Him.
 

Rev. David D. Reedy 2002

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church   

Dayton Tennessee   

423.775.4253

Prince of Peace is a LCMS congregation located in Rhea County Tennessee, serving the entire county of some 32,000 people.