A coaching friend of mine who jumped back and forth from high school to college coaching used to frequently share with me and the young men he was entrusted with about a Scripture passage that he considered to be his life verse. Deuteronomy 30:15-20 had made a tremendous impact on his life and even though I have not spoken with him in several years, I am quite sure that it still is.
Verses 19 and 20 are the heart of the passage, where the soon-to-die Moses declares, "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life.” (NASU, emphasis mine) He who created life holds it sacred, all of it and especially human life.
The very first chapter in the very first book of the Bible briefly describes the creation of mankind. While mankind’s dominion over the rest of created life on the earth is mentioned it is abundantly clear that the main point is that both sexes are created in the likeness and image of God. Overlooking that fact will prevent anyone from understanding much of the rest of Scripture. The Hebrew words translated as “likeness” in Genesis 1:26 and “image” in verse 27 both indicate something similar but not identical. Genesis 5:3 implies that this image and likeness is passed on to the rest of mankind, “When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image and named him Seth.”(NASU, emphasis mine) Genesis 9:6 states it very directly, “Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.” (NASU, emphasis mine) It is important to remember that both the Old and New Testaments make it very clear that civil governments are entrusted with the responsibility of keeping the peace and are not bound by this prohibition. James 3:8-9 provides New Testament attestation, “No one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God.” (NASU, emphasis mine)
God has set “life” and “death” before you and me. Our individual choices will determine the worldview of the culture in which we live. What I observe around me in this regard frightens me. While I realize that the ability of virtually every single citizen to report events makes it appear that more atrocities are occurring than in the past, it cannot be denied that respect for human life is at an incredibly low point. I am encouraged by what seems to be a slow, general turning in the tide of public opinion away from an abortion-on-demand mentality. Likewise I am encouraged by the slow downward trend in abortions in the U.S. but it is impossible to ignore the hundreds of thousands that still take place here every year. It is also impossible to ignore the cultural attitudes toward public funding of abortions, coercion of employers to provide abortifacients in their insurance plans, political party shifts, and media and artist support for abortion.
Abortion is far from the only player in forming a culture of death in the U.S. While other forms of murder, the euthanasia movement, violence in video games, television, and movies, racial hatred, etc. certainly contribute to this culture of death, they all pale in comparison to abortion. May God bring us to our senses and have mercy on us.