What does it mean to set apart life as sacred? What is so special about one life, that it would cause others to guard it? Maybe that one life, is that of the inventor of the smallpox vaccine? Or maybe it was the life of Winston Churchill, who taught us to “Never, never, never give up.”

Who determines the worth of a soul? Does government? Does popular opinion? Hitler declared the Jewish race inferior to his own. He succeeded in swaying public support for his beliefs. Watch as Joel Rosenberg describes the horror of Auschwitz.

When does a human being have the right to terminate the life of another? Before birth? At the end of a long life, now being snuffed out by disease?

Where are the limits to what a person/regime/political entity can impose on another country/race/individual?

Why should people care, when life is spiraling out of control in so many arenas? Joanna Weaver says, “God created us with a primal instinct for life and a violent resistance to death. There is a fight reflex within us that battles to breathe, scratching and clawing to the surface of whatever we’re going through in order to survive. And that is as it should be. If we don’t have a desire to live, then something is terribly wrong. Something has short-circuited our wiring, both physically and spiritually.”

How could one person make a difference, in a world where values are relative to circumstantial evidence?

Allow me to share a story. A reporter happened upon a beach where starfish upon starfish had washed up upon the shore, casualty of the previous night’s storm. The sea creatures would not survive out of their natural habitat, and the morning sun would surely bake them before hitting the noonday sky. But a lone beachcomber tossed specimens into the breakwaters, barely moving from one spot to reach for the next one. The reporter asked what difference it would make, when so many would not make it into the water. The man continued with his task, not even looking up to answer, “It makes a difference to that one.”

Is it an insurmountable task, to stem the tide of abortions in our country? Maybe. But it could save the life of one, who could save the life of one, who could…

I watched a movie last night with Hubby that left me cheering for life. The Martian, starring Matt Damon, is about an astronaut left behind in an aborted science mission to Mars. The ensuing struggle to survive on his part, and to launch a rescue attempt on the part of others, is a beautiful commentary on the value of one human life. One that is worth saving at all odds and all cost. Hmmm. That sounds a lot like the Rescue Effort launched by the Father and the Son. Jesus came to save us at the greatest cost of all time. Could we treat life any different?

Sally