Living proof I “chose life” and thank my grandma and mother for doing so.

My children Laura and Nathan having tire swing and sandbox fun.

Staying healthy with sweet corn and amoxicillin for dinner.

When I grow up, I could be an engineer or a pastor or an artist or a good friend…

Four-generation span shown in this photo. Great Grandma chose life for Mom who chose life for me and I chose life for Laura.

Life is reason to celebrate every moment. The only way to offer an unborn baby a Happy New Year is by choosing life.

I Googled “charity” and came up with 368,000,000 matches. It is amazing how much information is at my fingertips. When I Google “human life” there were 24,000,000 results. Topping the list is an organization dedicated to protecting life from fertilization to natural death.

Why do organizations need to promote life? The answer is because of sin. God gave us The Ten Commandments to help us recognize sin in our lives. Sin takes a gift God has given and uses it in a way God does not want it used. Each commandment also teaches us how God’s gifts are used to His honor and glory.

The Bible’s fifth commandment is You shall not murder. The Lutheran (LCMS) explanation interprets it along with the verses listed below: 

Curb anger, do not harm or kill, hate not, repay not ill with ill. Be patient and of gentle mind, convince your foe that you are kind. Have mercy, Lord!*

Human life is the crowning gift of God’s creation. We are not to end human life through murder, abortion, euthanasia or suicide. Prejudice, bigotry and abuse of those less fortunate are forbidden. We recognize that we can “murder” a person with our thoughts, certainly with our words, and then most dramatically with our actions. As God’s representative, the government has the authority to execute criminals and to wage just wars in order to punish evildoers, protect us, and maintain order. As we continue to receive mercy and kindness in Christ, so we support our neighbors when they need help. (Gen.9:6; Matt. 26:52; Jer. 1:5; Prov. 31:8; Matt. 5:22; 1 John 3:15; Eph. 4:26; Rom.13:4).

We cannot keep the commandments because of sin. Good news is that Jesus Christ sacrificed his perfect life for our sake and rose again on the third day so we may have eternal life.

I was recently invited to participate in an event called “Walk for Life”. It is a great reason to get some exercise and vitamin D (if the sun is shining) along with others who care about life. Every dollar raised will go to support the ever-expanding work of the Pregnancy Service Center. This organization is dedicated to helping meet the needs of those facing an unplanned pregnancy. You can easily donate to help! To learn more about how this organization is sharing the mercy and kindness in Christ by offering education and support to women, visit my page where you can GIVE. You will be happy you did!

*From Martin Luther’s hymn on the Ten Commandments, Here Is the Tenfold Sure Command, Hymn in Lutheran Worship (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1982).