Sanctity
of Life Sunday snuck up on me again. Somehow I always associate it with spring,
the season of rebirth.
Are
you a world-weary seeker, lost and longing for peace? Are you a battle-weary
saint like Paul, longing for home? Have you had too much time in this world?
Or
not enough? Are you eager for more chances to make a difference, to make your
life count? Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy died young, plans spinning in their
heads until assassins’ bullets brought them to a crashing halt. Louis L’Amour,
prolific writer, had more than fifty ideas on his storyboard when he died. (And
I’d have read every one of them.)
These
and countless others, gone too soon.
Too
soon? It’s God who determines the
number of our days, He who decides how long each life should be. No one has
less time on this earth than he/she needs to fulfill God’s purpose for them.
But
what about those children who had only a few prenatal weeks, those whose lives
were cut short by human will?
No
life is without purpose. God leads—and where He leads, long journey or short,
He provides. No one is given an assignment and abandoned without resources. Even
these little ones, millions strong, can touch lives, turn hearts to the One who
will forgive—if only we ask.
Forgiveness
for every sin—even that one.
But
His forgiveness for anything is only part of the story. We still have to
forgive ourselves. Do you imagine those babies entombed forever in bloody
suction bottles? Or do you imagine them in Heaven, bitterly proclaiming our sin,
angry over lost opportunity, crying out for vengeance against those who struck
them down, against those who stood by silently?
No.
They’re rejoicing over the glorious abundance of life in the arms of God—and longing
to share it with us. When at last we meet them at home, their arms will swing
wide in welcome, nothing left to forgive.
Avi, thank
You for our forgiveness. Thank You for letting us serve You, no matter what abilities
or disabilities we have, no matter the length of our lives. Help us to serve
You faithfully. In Your holy name, Amen.
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