The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent David H. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Research - Sanctity of Life
Scripture says: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." This likeness has brought value and dignity to human life. As the final and highest creature, God created man to be the crown of his creation. Man was placed by God as ruler over His earthly creation.
Man was created to glorify his Maker and his special status is explored throughout the Bible. In Genesis 1:26a, it says: "And God said, Let Us make man." In this way, the creation of man proceeded from a special counsel of the Triune God. Man was created by a particular, personal act of the Lord. And God speaks of personally forming man’s body from the ground, and of breathing man’s life into him.
How does this make humans above all other creatures? Man was created with an eternal soul. We read about this in Genesis 2:7b: "And man became a living soul." The soul of man is spiritual, enabling him to relate with the spiritual realm. Man is uniquely created to interact in both the physical and spiritual spheres of life.
While our bodies are very precious gifts from God, our souls are infinitely more valuable they are immortal. When physical death takes place, a person's body dies and returns to the earth, but his soul returns to God and is sent to continue its life in Heaven or Hell, without its body until the Resurrection Day. Even the body and a person's physical health are important in God’s eyes. For this reason, God’s sixth commandment states, "Thou shalt not kill." It implies that we must value human life and show concern for the health of others and ourselves. All forms of killing are deeply prohibited. God is the Giver of human life and He has made man in His image.
In his book What if Jesus Had Never Been Born?, Dr. D. James Kennedy explains that "the word sanctity – which comes from the Latin word sanctitas from sanctus – means 'holy or sacred unto God, inviolable, that which God has declared is of great value.' It is, therefore, a spiritual concept."
Through Jesus Christ, human life received worth and honor. Christianity has stood as a moral force against abortion, euthanasia, and other cannibal acts. Everyone has been created in God’s own image. The special characteristics of man include our possession of both a body and a soul and our being destined for eternal existence. Human life, therefore, transcends plant or animal life in value. We must protect and defend human life. It is sacred.
