A convergence of various things this week have me thinking about – and giving thanks for – God’s good gift of life. I’m writing this on Tuesday, October the 14th, my son Nicholai’s 31st birthday; and I give such thanks for his life and his family, as he and his wife will celebrate their ninth wedding anniversary this week, and as they are expecting the birth of their fifth child this coming spring. Right there is an example of God’s good gift of life in full blossom! And tonight my wife and I, along with our youngest daughter, will be attending the Northeast Indiana Right To Life Banquet for the fourth year in a row. It is a remarkable and thoroughly encouraging event, and I give thanks again for the staunchly pro-life community in which we live.
This week I also met with others in anticipation of a conference this coming year, at which we’ll be addressing various pro-life issues and challenges. I am grateful that Christian men and women are thinking carefully about these topics and looking for answers to the many questions involved. But at the same time, it is daunting to consider how prevalent and pervasive the challenges are, confronting us on all sides. It occurred to me, as we were discussing the potential topics, that the people of God are most in need of clarity and accuracy with respect to actual facts, in the face of so much obfuscation, double-speak, and spin-doctoring. Confusion and misinformation abound, which muddy the waters and muddle the issues. The consequences, in too many cases, include deep regrets, guilt, and shame on the part of those who have unwittingly caused mortal harm. So, we are challenged to uphold and defend the sanctity of human life, while also clearly confessing and proclaiming the free and full forgiveness of sins in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
All of this has been echoed in my current reading and listening. I’ve been listening to Paradise Lost as I drive over the past week or so, and I’ve been struck by Milton’s lavish descriptions of Creation and life before the Fall into sin. There’s a vividness to his poetic narrative, a rhetorical artistry, which enlivens the imagination to contemplate the goodness of the Lord’s work and His good gifts. It also awakens a sense of awe, echoing that described within this epic poem on the part of Adam and Eve: for the Lord God Himself, for the wonder and beauty of the Garden and the entire Cosmos, and for each other, created in His Image and Likeness for life in His presence. And then there’s the shattering contrast between all of this original glory and the consequences of man’s disobedience and sin. Christ be praised for His Redemption and the New Creation He has wrought for us and on behalf of all mankind by His Incarnation, Cross, and Resurrection.
I’ve also just finished reading a fun diversionary detective mystery, part of a series I’ve been enjoying along with my Mom, several of my children, and other friends over these past many years now. In this most recent installment, one of the main characters was hospitalized after an ectopic pregnancy ruptured and burst her fallopian tube. That raised subsequent questions about IVF, a topic that our Synod is endeavoring to address in view of the grave harm that is done to the many tiny infant children who are lost and disposed of in the process. What was heartening, though, was the way the mother and father both thought and spoke about their baby, not just a medical condition gone awry, but a living child who had died, unable to reach the womb. The way we think and speak matters, as it shapes our entire worldview and our approach to life.
As Christians, we are pro-life not only because God forbids murder in the Fifth Commandment, though that alone is cause enough, but also because life is His creation and His gift, and because human life, in particular – along with the whole of Creation – has been assumed, redeemed, and sanctified by the very Son of God. He was conceived and born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, not simply as a means to some other end, but in order to restore, fulfill, and perfect the Image and Likeness of God in Man. All of which calls for a profound reverence for God’s good gift of life. And that extends well beyond our opposition to abortion, euthanasia, and other threats to human life. It means that we love, honor, respect, and serve our spouses, children, and other neighbors.