Why does human life matter?
Why should we help Children in Need? Why support Cancer Research? And why does it matter if we “terminate foetuses” or hasten the death of the terminally ill? They are only bodies, after all, complicated bags of cells with things we call reactions and emotions bubbling out of the soup which is life. Or at least, they are if there is no God.
1. Creation
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), and everything else. Once humankind had been made to crown it all, it was very good (Genesis 1:31).
The way humanity is described is the only sure way to know that human beings have dignity. They are made in the image of God, both men and women (Genesis 1:27). Equal dignity, equal importance, equal worth. Selective abortion of girls, common in India, China, and even parts of the UK until a national newspaper [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9099511/Abortion-investigation-doctors-filmed-agreeing-illegal-abortions-no-questions-asked.html] exposed it, is wrong because children do not have only the value their human parents give them. Girls and boys are the work of the Creator. They are made in his image, different but the same, forever.
2. Fall
Nothing is now as it should be. The decision Adam and Eve made (Genesis 3:1-7), which we daily affirm in our own sins, to replace God with our human “wisdom”, is always wrong, unwise, and damaging. God is so patient in holding back so much of what we deserve for the final judgement, but he has placed markers all over the place that we have messed up. All sickness and pain, ultimately, is our responsibility. Praying for a sufferer without doing anything else may be kind, but it’s a bit like a child who has trashed his room asking Mum to “help” while themselves staying in bed. We made this mess, not Him.
3. Redemption
Referring to psalm 8, the author of Hebrews points out that, though we can’t see the glorious crown God intended for humanity in his original plan, we can see Jesus now crowned with glory and honour (Hebrews 2:7-8). Humanity is not destined for landfill, but for glory, headed by Jesus! Humanity now finds its value not only in the divine image with which it is invested, but in the body and blood of the King of Glory. Messed up we surely are, but God still sees infinite value in us. When someone stops caring for an elderly relative because they are exhausted, God cares on. When someone stops caring because they are selfish, God is not pleased and will remember. When someone abuses the needs of others for their own pleasure, God is angry. It is evil, and the cross makes plain that evil is horrific.
4. Glory
One day, humans who come to the cross will become exactly as we were designed to be. God says he is going to wipe away every tear from those he brings into the new creation (Revelation 21:4). This achingly tender act will not need to be repeated, for there will be no more crying. He has promised that, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, all the pain and suffering caused by sin will have been borne and carried away forever. If such experiences remain in any sense, it is only through being transformed into sweet reminders of his precious grace.
5. So what?
So Christians know that human life matters, and should seek God’s help to love it in all its forms even when others think it is excessive or that it tramples on their rights to do so. Abortion, euthanasia, suicide, Cancer Research, child abuse, Children in Need and countless other examples are all opportunities to love, value and protect those God calls our neighbours – made in his image, messed up by us, measured by the cross, and invited into paradise. Of course that last point helps us see that there is one spectacular way to love any neighbour, if they have ears and brains that work: prayerfully tell them, in words they can understand, about Jesus.
Andrew Nicholls is the pastor of Christ Church, Kingston. Before moving into full-time ministry, he was a doctor.
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