Psalm 139:13-14 (NIV) 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

About a month from now, my youngest child will be nine years old. It is so hard to believe that nine years ago I held my tiny baby (or not so tiny, she weighed ten pounds five ounces) in my arms.

She was so precious with her head full of hair and her chubby cheeks. She was indeed “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Now she is a growing young lady who is my sweetheart. I’ve watched my children come into this world and at each birth I was overcome with emotion at the miracle of life.

To hold your newborn child in your arms is a gift from God. I’ve watched them grow up and become independent. Life is indeed precious and such a gift.

It is interesting that we recognize how precious life is when we watch our kids or grandkids grow up, but somehow overlook or even disregard the preciousness of life in many other areas. This week we remember the sanctity of human life. This is a perspective from the belief that life starts at conception and should be protected and celebrated.

This is the time when we remember all those lives that were taken before birth through abortion and celebrate that life is sacred.

This perspective comes from a position of faith in God and the belief that He is the good Creator of all good things.

When He created humanity, He placed His image in each one. This makes all human life sacred.

It’s funny though, that for many it stops with the abortion issue. To be pro-life seems to be a perspective that should encompass all of life. It seems to me that it should include loving all people and responding with a lifestyle that reflects this.

A week before Sanctity of Human Life Sunday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It seems fitting that the two should be celebrated closely together. If we are believers in God, then we must hold to a perspective that all life and all races reflect God’s image.

There should never be a perspective of prejudice or discrimination based on skin tone or ethnicity. This, I believe, is the essence of what it means to be pro-life and to believe in the sanctity of human life. Imagine the outcome if we would live out the dream that Martin Luther King Jr. had.

That we would “…live in a nation where (we) will not be judged by the color of (our) skin, but by the content of (our) character.”

Sanctity of life should also extend to how we treat those less fortunate than us. We should do what we can as God directs us to help those in need. Atmore Area Christian Care Ministry is our local ministry that helps those in need.

We can all give through this ministry by supporting, volunteering and donating food to help others in our community.

An often overlooked aspect of this, are those who are incarcerated. Many have the perspective that prisoners don’t deserve to be respected as humans. Scripture, however, calls us to a high standard to treat those in prison as we want to be treated.

Another local ministry who fulfills this calling in an exemplary way is the We Care Program. In providing volunteers and organizing mentoring opportunities etc. for inmates they carry out specifically this high standard the Bible calls us to.

There are many more aspects where we can live out the perspective of sanctity of human life. We should pay attention to the words of Jesus and what he calls us to.

The bottom line is that when we respond right to other humans, we are in essence responding to Christ.

So may you live out the sanctity of human life. Start now with those you come in contact with.

Matthew 25:34-40 (NIV) 34 “…the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Gene King is the pastor for Grace Fellowship.