What matters in the eyes of God? Every life is the answer
Do you matter? Does my life matter? Does a single life really matter all that much in the big scheme of things? After all, millions and millions of people have been born, lived and died − and what difference have they really made?
Let me state the obvious ... every life does matter.
Every day at the Ashland Pregnancy Care Center, I see just how much every single life − THE ONE, matters to God. Time and time again, God will send a community partner to drop off a pack of diapers and other material needs to meet an immediate need for a struggling mom. To the mom, she feels loved and seen. Although they may never know each other’s names, clearly each individual‘s life mattered to the other − and to the God who connected the two people.
God created each of His children and knows us all by name. (John 10:2:4). He knows us so completely He’s counted the hairs on each of our heads! (Matthew 10:29:31.) God desires all 8 billion people in our world follow Jesus so they can enjoy the splendor of eternal life.
In Luke 15 verses 4-6 it says, "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'"
The Bible makes clear Jesus is our shepherd and we are His sheep. (John 10:11)
When one of the sheep wanders away from his shepherd, it represents a person who wanders from Jesus by choosing to lead an evil or sinful life according to worldly pleasures. Jesus doesn’t stop that person from wandering because God loves us so much He gave us freewill to make our own choices in life.
But He never gives up on the person who walks away from Him, no matter how many others He has by His side. He still loves and misses and wants the lost one to return. Having that one person return back home to Jesus is cause for great celebration.
The lessons gained from the parable Jesus taught
What can we learn from this parable that Jesus taught?
1. God loves you more than you can imagine.
You are so important to God that if you leave Him behind by choosing to live your life without Him, He will follow you to the ends of the earth. He stays by your side, no matter if you acknowledge Him or not. There’s nothing you can do that will ever stop Him from loving you.
2. You are welcome in His Kingdom.
The moment you choose to turn to Him, He’ll open His arms and celebrate your return. His greatest joy is having one of His lost return home.
3. God never gives up on you.
No matter how long you’ve strayed or what you’ve done, God has mercy on those who ask for forgiveness. His mercy endures forever. You are His child. All you have to do is come home to Him.
This Sunday is National Sanctity of Human Life Day, and people across the United States will celebrate God’s gift of life, by commemorating the lives of many boys and girls whose lives have been lost to abortion (more than 65 million babies since 1973). People across our country gather together to affirm our commitment to protect human life at every stage and every age. This Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
I would like to personally invite you to join us for our community’sSanctity of Human Life Community Service, this Sunday, at 4:30 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, 508 Center St., Ashland. We welcome special guest speaker Darlene Yost, the wife of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. She has a powerful adoption story.
Visit www.AshlandCareCenter.org/Sanctity for more details. Join us as we celebrate life’s priceless value.
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Celebrate gift of life at Sanctity of Human Life service in Ashland
