you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully
and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths
of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
- Psalm 139:13-16
Humanity is given dignity and intrinsic worth because rather than being the product of some evolutionary process, they have actually been lovingly and meticulously made by their Father in heaven. Who else gives human beings so much value? What philosophical notion or ideological principle declares that we have any significance above the rest of creation? Humanists fight for justice but have no foundation or legitimacy without having to invoke what God has already made clear to us. Yet they deny Him. We intuitively know that God's Word is true, but we want it on our own terms. We want to cry out, "No discrimination due to race!" believing that all people are created equal and in the same breath demand "Choice for women!" turning our faces from the reality that life has in fact begun at conception.
Our world is so fallen it is disturbing. We think of new ways to destroy ourselves, insisting that progress is occurring and that we are simply moving in the direction of modernity. When new technologies are devised and available, the only logical choice is to embrace them. Rarely are consequences considered or critical examination made. We are the shapers of our own destinies, and we know what is best for ourselves. Or so we keep telling ourselves with each succeeding generation. I sometimes wonder how God can put up with all the unrepentant sin. At least as a nation I do not see how things are ever going to permanently change. I am disheartened and discouraged, knowing that the words of Jeremiah still ring true:
"My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water."
- Jeremiah 2:13
"Long ago you broke off your yoke
and tore off your bonds;
you said, 'I will not serve you!'
- Jeremiah 2:20
"How can you say, 'I am not defiled;
I have not run after the Baals'?
See how you behaved in the valley;
consider what you have done.
- Jeremiah 2:23
"They say to wood, 'You are my father,'
and to stone, 'You gave me birth.
They have turned their backs to me
and not their faces;
yet when they are in trouble, they say,
'Come and save us!'
- Jeremiah 2:27
"You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord:
Why do my people say, 'We are free to roam;
we will come to you no more"?
you say, 'I am innocent;
he is not angry with me.'
But I will pass judgment on you
because you say, 'I have not sinned.'
- Jeremiah 2:31,35
Then I begin to see a glimpse of why God is patient with his depraved creation. Why it is that he continues to give undeserved warnings to those who continue to sin against him.
Go proclaim this message toward the north: '' 'Return, faithless Israel,' declares the Lord, 'I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,' declares the Lord, 'I will not be angry forever.Only acknowledge your guilt - you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,' " declares the Lord. - Jeremiah 3:12-13
I wonder if there will there be a day when the spiritually blinded and enslaved finally say,
"Yes, we will come to you, for you are the Lord our God. Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills and mountains is a deception; surely in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. From our youth shameful gods have consumed the fruits of our fathers' labor - their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our fathers; from our youth till this day we have not obeyed the Lord our God." - Jeremiah 3:22-25
The hope of Jesus is all that can bring about this kind of heartfelt conversion. The truth and life of Jesus, heard and received, is the only way to achieve unveiling of eyes and softening of hearts. People actively resist and ignore now, but there will be day when these are no longer options. He will not be mocked or trivialized, and his decrees like the sanctity of every human life will not be manipulated or tossed aside at whim. There will be justice! Praise the Lord for who He is and for the way he has loved us despite the unlovely quality about us. Praise the Father for sending his Son and Jesus for making atonement for our sins. Evil holds this world hostage - its systems, its laws, its leaders, its citizens. But thanks be to God that the Enemy has not any hold over the crucified and risen King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Jesus, would you come to those who desperately need you, to those who have yet to meet you. To those who foolishly destroy not only their own lives, but those around them, and in some cases within their own bodies.
Remind us all that YOU created our inmost being. YOU knit us together in our mother's womb. YOU have made us, and we are the works of YOUR hands, O God. Forgive those who reject your commands and live in shameless disobedience, blaspheming your name and reveling in sin. Hasten to convict our hearts so that we may be forever changed. Turn our faces back to you, Lord, and show us the folly of our ways. Let us not only know the truth, but speak out in boldness and in faith. May your Spirit take control of our lives and use us for the will of He who breathed life into us. Amen.
