LUTHERANS FOR LIFE of IOWA

In this last year a deep infection that has infested our Nation has been poked and prodded. The soreness around the infection is enflamed to the point that the thought of mere touching the infection sends shrieks down to the very core of America. What this infection is attacking is the "Value of Life."

Taught in Schools for decades Evolution has become the norm of peoples thought as the origins of life and a central point of how people see their existence. Human life has been reduced to a mere accident with no purpose of existence. The cost to the Value of Life has been extensive and very detrimental. Many people no longer see others or themselves as valuable and assisted suicide and euthanasia are becoming more prominent. Gun violence has become a social norm and the stigma of a death by gunshot has all but numbed the conscience.

The Value of Life does not start at conception or in the womb. The Value of Life started when God created man and declared

In such a statement God declares that he assigns the value to his creation. God not only declared his creation to be very good, but he also bestows upon man a blessing. In all of God's creation Mankind is the only part that God bestows his blessing upon. In part of this blessing God declares "Be fruitful and Multiply"(Genesis 1:28). God, in this declaration, assigns his blessing bestowed upon man that he is to have offspring and that it is a "Blessing from God." God assigns the Value of Life as Very Good and a Blessing.

In our society the Value of Life has been diminished from a Blessing and Very Good to a disruption and an inconvenience and relative to one's own value assigned by other people. A baby is only valuable if it does not have any genetic defects and/or is wanted. If a baby doesn't fit the parameters set by its mother then it is no longer considered a baby and not a human being. An elderly person in some countries can be euthanized based upon the Value of their remaining life assigned by another person. Not just elderly people, but also younger people can now opt for assisted suicide if they suffer from an incurable disease or even in some cases do not find value in their own lives. As the virus Covid 19 has swept the World mankind has still failed in it's attempt to grapple with the "Value of Life."

In America, people have emphasized the importance of keeping people safe and protecting the elderly. People have taken extraordinary precautions and measures trying to pretend that they cherish the "Value of Life" while failing at the attempt to grasp the "Value of Life." People assign the "Value of Life" based upon their own parameters that they have put into place. People have attempted to replace God and his declaration with their own image of the "Value of Life." This is in direct and stark contrast to what God declares at the beginning of Creation. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27 ESV)

There is Hope for "God is Love".(1 John 4:8) Out of love God created mankind. Out of love God declared his creation Very Good. And when mankind fell short of God's Glory, God out of his great love for us sent his Son Jesus to die for us. This is our great hope. God restores Life through his Son, Jesus. There is no greater Value assigned to mankind than the forgiveness of our sins. God puts his Name upon us through baptism which is water attached to God's Word. God has promised his forgiveness of our sins through Baptism and through his forgiveness of our sins God bestows upon us eternal life and salvation. For where there is forgiveness of sins there is also eternal life and salvation. There is no greater Value of Life than that found within Jesus and his Love. Jesus is the "Value of Life."