VBS Sunday
Life Sunday
Psalm 139:13-16
June 11, 2023
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The text that I have chosen for this morning’s sermon is Psalm 139:13-16: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
The overarching theme for this week’s Vacation Bible School was what makes something valuable. In large part, it depends on the person because value is determined by its worth to you. If you need to park in downtown Hong Kong, you’ll pay the one million dollars for a spot. A Hong Kong parking spot means nothing to me so it has no value, it’s worthless.
This week, the kids learned that what God creates is amazing in every way. The VBS theme verse is “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” and we talked about how our bodies, while corrupted by Sin, defects, and illness, are incredibly miraculous. How they’re assembled in such a way that every part has a purpose. Even that little pinky toe you sometimes stub. I am so proud that the kids immediately understood that because everyone is fearfully and wonderfully made by God, all life is equally valuable.
However, not all have the understanding of children. From abortion to physician assisted suicide and euthanasia to eugenics, human life is considered worthless. Whether it’s the unborn, the sick, or the elderly, others have determined that they lack value and are therefore disposable.
There’s no clearer evidence that life is devalued than the existence of abortion. Twenty-one percent of all pregnancies end in abortion to the tune of over 900,000 a year. A recent survey reported that 61% believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and 45% percent of Christians surveyed agreed that it should be legal. I know this is a hot button topic, but I can’t shirk my responsibility to tell you that abortion is always wrong, always sinful. The Christian attitude towards abortion isn’t determined by personal or public opinion; it’s based solely on the Word of God. God says that He hates and is absolutely disgusted by “hands that shed innocent blood” (Proverbs 6:17). And that’s exactly what abortion is – the shedding of innocent blood.
The author of Psalm 139 writes, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb…Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” Abortion is tearing apart something that God knit together. Because God the Creator formed that baby, then obviously he or she has infinite value to Him. That unborn baby is a human being created in God’s image, one for whom Christ was crucified to redeem them from their sin.
I know there are many situations that would lead a woman to choose abortion and I know there are situations that make carrying a baby to term difficult or seemingly impossible. (I’m always willing to talk more about this issue.) However, that doesn’t change the fact that in the mother’s womb is a tiny person for whom Jesus died and for whom Jesus has plans and a purpose. Jesus will use every pregnancy and every child, no matter how difficult to His glory.
From the dawn of time, suicide has been a means to bring about death on the terms of the individual. The individual decides when and how they will end their physical, mental, and emotional suffering; it’s supposedly control over their own destiny. The desire to control the trajectory of life has led to the practice of “physician assisted suicide”, which is receiving from a doctor, poisonous pills. Ten states have legalized this practice with another twelve expected to discuss it in upcoming legislative sessions. But if God has decreed our days and years, who are we to tell Him He’s wrong? Who are we tell Him that He’s not loving enough or powerful enough to see us through the suffering or agony that comes from an illness or from a fatal disease. And to look at it from the opposite side, who are we to explain to God that it would be better for us to end the suffering of a loved one than to trust His purposes?
Every single person is valuable enough for God to send His Son to die so that the person could be brought to eternal life. An elderly person isn’t less valuable than someone younger. A handicapped person isn’t less valuable than an active one. You get the picture. We’re all valuable to God, and if someone is valuable to God, they must be valuable to us. And there’s not a person in the world whose premature death does not grieve God.
We know God works in the suffering of our lives not always because we see His work or feel His work, but because He promises to be at work. Saint Paul says, “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:6-7). We cling to promises not feelings. And the promise of God is that His will is always good and right, and while you may wonder how that can be possible, anything is possible when it comes to the infinite wisdom and power of God.
When God says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, He’s not just talking about how you view others, He’s talking about how you should view yourself. Satan is very good at tearing you down. He is adept at holding your sins before you and telling you that because you haven’t valued life or because of some other sin, that you’re garbage. But God doesn’t make garbage! And while some of you may view yourself as less valuable than others, you’re not. You too are redeemed by the blood of Jesus. His blood paid for the sins of the entire world! He forgives all your sins, even those like abortion. He values you and that proof is in Jesus! Would God send His Son to save a bunch of worthless sinners? Absolutely not! Jesus died because you are valuable to God. How can you not be when He has put you together with His very own hands?
Value yourself as one redeemed by Jesus so that you are not swayed by the voices of this world. Don’t let someone tell you that you’re not all that valuable because God knit you together in a different way than others. Don’t believe that you’re less valuable because your physical skill have diminished or that you’re not big enough or smart or old enough to contribute or have a purpose. Yes, we’re all born less than perfect. We have defects and get sick. We get hurt and grow old. We have ailments of every sort. All these are a result of the Sin which corrupts our being. But this situation is only temporary! While we have lost the perfection found in the Garden of Eden, we’ll get it back. On the day that Jesus returns to take all those who believe in Him to eternal paradise, He will destroy all the ails you, all that tears you down, all that tells you that you’re worthless. You will see with your very own eyes how valuable you are to God – you’re not worthless, you’re priceless.
As a father, it’s part of my being to tell dad jokes, so here’s one for you. What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t come back? A stick. For too long the trajectory for how people have valued life has just been a straight shot away from God. The world has increasingly said that people lack value – the sick, the comatose, the elderly, the handicapped, the mentally ill, theunborn. It’s time for a change. It’s time for us to look at life issues as a boomerang. It’s time for us to return to valuing life the way God would have us do. It’s time for us to return to God in repentance for our sinful attempts and sinful actions which devalue the life created by God. It’s time for us to return to the Lord Jesus Christ who died for people of all ages, abilities, races and receive His eternal love and forgiveness. It’s time for us to return to the Lord who declares you to be fearfully and wonderfully made.
Amen
Now the peace which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
0 Comments