Sanctity of Human Life Sunday
On January 22nd, 1973 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of abortion in the court decision in Roe v Wade. Each year in the month of January many churches will recognize Sanctity of Human Life Sunday and remember the decision that changed history in our nation. For those of us who believe in the sanctity of life, this day is seen as a tragedy that has affected millions of people in the United States alone. This decision eliminated the laws in the 30 States that previously prohibited abortion except to save the life of the mother. "Viable" was defined for the purposes of the abortion law to mean "the ability of the unborn to survive outside of the mother's womb." Psalm 139:13 says that God created our inmost being and knitted us together in our mother's womb. Each of us were intimately and intricately woven together by God. We were also known to God before he formed us in the womb according to Jeremiah 1:5 in the Bible.
Abortion has had devastating effects on many women, men and their families. The number of lives lost to abortion in the United States now exceeds 58,000,000. It's startling to know that this number in our nation is only a small percentage of the lives lost globally. Abortions occur in countries around the world with the same devastating effects to those it touches. There are healing Bible Studies offered in Pregnancy Centers around the globe to women and men that are suffering post-abortion trauma. After healing these women and men become advocates for the families experiencing unplanned pregnancies and many lives of the unborn are saved.
In the history of Israel, mourners would cry their tears in bottles and place them in the tombs of their loved ones that had died. During the Civil War, soldiers would give their wives "tear catcher" bottles as they went to war. If they returned, the moisture in the bottle showed them the love and devotion of their wives. God has this love and devotion for us as He stores our tears. "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book" (Psalm 56:8). We can all be a part of offering hope to those affected by abortion and honoring the lives that have been lost through educating ourselves in the history and the effects of abortion.
