I don’t need this old sock — I throw it away. I don’t need yesterday’s paper — I throw it away. I don’t need a broken iPod — I throw it away. I don’t need a rusty bike — I throw it away. I don’t need a smashed baseball bat — I throw it away. I don’t need a 2007 calendar — I throw it away. I don’t need …

Right?

Over the course of life, we accumulate many things that no longer hold its value. Things fade. Things rust. Things get destroyed. And we throw them away. But there are some things that never lose its value — that never should be thrown away.

I’m talking about life. Life, human life, is unique! When God made mankind, He said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26, NKJV) This verse leads us to two reasons why our lives are uniquely valuable — 1) We are created in God’s image; and 2) We are God’s primary creation.

It is important to note that both of these reasons deal with God. We are valuable because God is valuable. We get our value from God. This is really the heart of the matter. When we begin to value God less, we begin to value life less. When you look around our nation today, this is exactly what you see. Our nation has increasingly failed to value God during this past century and, consequently, we have increasingly failed to value human life.

An exaggeration? I’m afraid not. Last month, during the 2008 presidential election, two initiatives were submitted for a final vote to the American people. The first one was in Colorado and would define human life as legitimate from conception. The second one was in my home state Washington and would permit physician-assisted suicide. One initiative fought for life; one initiative fought against life. When the results came in, the Colorado-initiative was overwhelmingly overturned and the Washington-initiative was overwhelmingly confirmed. Two deadly blows to life.

The American people do not value human life as much as they once did.

This grieves me greatly. God has created us with a unique value and with that, comes a unique love. He didn’t send His Son to die for lions, bacteria, goldfish, trees, ozone, H2O, or computers. He had a unique love for His unique creation. And we just throw it away as if it were an old sock, yesterday’s paper, a broken iPod.

The heart of the matter is our relationship with God. If we don’t know Him, we won’t value Him. If we don’t value Him, we won’t value His creation. So it has to start with us dedicating more of our lives to getting to know our Creator. We have to get to the root of the matter to create lasting results.

Don’t throw it away!

Questions for Thought and Discussion:

* Have you ever felt seriously depressed? How did that effect the way you saw yourself/your life/your worth?

* Do you believe it is right to decide when to end your life? What effects does this stance trigger?

* How do you define murder?

* How is a wasted life similar to an “ended” life?

* Can a price tag be put on human life?

* How does an evolutionary viewpoint effect the value of human life?

* What positive effects could occur if we understood the value of our own lives more? What negative effects could occur?

* What positive effects could occur if we understood the value of others’ lives more? What negative effects could occur?

* Is laying down your life for someone else suicide?

Read Full Post »