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From drug-infested neighborhoods to upper class suburban high schools, blood
soaks the soil and stains the streets of America. Headlines tell of fathers
shooting their sons, mothers drowning their children, gangs killing over
territories, and employees murdering their co-workers. Added to such terrible
events is the senseless slaughter of more than 1.5 million unborn babies each
year in the United States. Then, of course, one cannot help but think of those
individuals who choose to take their own lives -- sometimes with the
assistance of others. These terrible tragedies sadly reveal that far too many
view life as a cheap and insignificant commodity.
While with violent rage, selfish pride, and political rhetoric, men might blind themselves to the truth, God's view on the matter is easily discernable -- life is valuable! Consider the Lord's instructions to Noah: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man." (Gen. 9:6). The nature of man (designed in God's image) and the penalty for murder (life for life) both demonstrate the great worth of human life. As a side note, consider that those who debate against these two factors unwittingly endorse the murderous actions of the justly condemned. For example, atheists as those who deny the Creator and thus the nature of the creation have no moral basis from which to argue against murder. Their godless philosophy forces them to admit that the taking of a human life is no different from the killing of a cockroach. As for opponents of the death penalty, many -- not all -- in this group demand that every woman has the right to abort her child. These, therefore, choose to murder the innocent and spare the guilty! Returning to Genesis 9:6 and the punishment it prescribes for the murderer, notice that God has required life for life in every age. In addition to this commandment given in the Patriarchal Dispensation, a law of the Mosaical Age declares, "...the murderer shall surely be put to death (Num. 35:16), while Romans 13:4, a law of the Christian Dispensation proclaims that the agent of civil authority, "...beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil (Rom.13:4). While an array of protestors, politicians, churches, and so-called religious leaders might proclaim that the death penalty denies the sacredness of human life, these laws pronounce to all just how hallowed life truly is. Save as the Creator of life prescribes, no man has the right to take away this gracious gift -- that which God created in His own image! |