The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Joshua E. during the 2007-2008 League.
Ambassador League Biblical Report: Sanctity of Life
Sanctity of life is defined as that quality of life which is holy or set apart. This topic is important because of the increasing devaluation of life in popular culture, as exemplified by the ongoing abortion debate. As we read in the book of Acts, God ".is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else." (Acts 17:25) By realizing that life is a sacred gift from God, we can gain perspective on current sanctity of life issues.
We find a record of life's beginning in Genesis. "[T]he Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7) God took the mundane (dirt) and made it extraordinary (life). He breathed his own breath into us; every breath we take is God's life in us. As Psalm 39:5 reads: "You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath." We should be both thankful for God's amazing gift and humbled by our own finite existence. The Genesis story continues: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27) When God created life, he did it in such a way that we bore his stamp. We are created in his own likeness, which only increases the sacred nature of our existence.
There are several issues currently being faced in our country that concern the sanctity of life, notably abortion, euthanasia, and suicide. Even without Biblical obligation, we have a constitutional right to life. As the Declaration of Independence reads, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Abortion is one of the greatest travesties facing our generation, claiming approximately 46 million children annually. As implied in the Psalms, life in the womb is still life: "Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast." (Psalm 22:9) Before we are born, we have a relationship with God. "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (Psalm 139:13-14) This verse further exemplifies our breathtaking origin and connection to God.
We need to remain focused on the abortion issue and not lose our oppositional fervor. When Matthew recorded the infanticide in Bethlehem, he noted the fulfilled prophecy of Jeremiah: "A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more." (Matthew 2:18/Jeremiah 31:15) We also must refuse to be comforted until abortion is outlawed and the situation is, at least for the future, remedied.
Euthanasia is another controversial topic relevant to this issue. The Bible says that, "You shall not murder." (Exodus 20:13) However, the discussion on Euthanasia is complex, and is not as black and white as death or life. I have not yet decided how I feel about assisted suicide if the issue is quality of life due to chronic pain. Suicide is a separate issue and is forbidden by the Bible. First, God originally gave us life (Genesis), and then provided eternal life through Jesus. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10) Second, we are told to honor God with our bodies. "[Y]ou were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:20) Since God gave us life and commands us to honor him with our bodies, it follows that it is not our place to cut our own lives short.
Jesus placed a heavy emphasis on life, and there is a recurring theme throughout the Bible of God as the provider of physical as well as eternal life. When talking to the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus said: "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14) Jesus offers us the best life possible: a holy life aiming to glorify him.
