Known by Him

Yesterday in church our pastor used several scriptures relating to the sanctity of life in his sermon. He began by reading from Genesis where God breathed into man the breath of life. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” The Bible records that all other creatures were created, apparently living, and says nothing about God breathing into them. He explained this as meaning man is unique in having a soul and distinguishes us from animals.

Reading from Job 27:3, where Job says, “As long as my breath is in me, and the breath of God in my nostrils, (4) My lips shall not speak wickedness , Nor my tongue utter deceit,” Pastor said that Job is linking his very breath to God and creation. Then the account of Jesus healing the blind man was read from John 9:6 where He mixed saliva with mud and applied it to the blind man’s eyes. The minister then brought out something that had never occurred to me: Jesus was reaching all the way back to creation and using the original building material, dust of the ground, to do a creative miracle on this man’s eyes!
He is able to create, and re-create, both physically and spiritually!

Prior to the sermon, we had watched a moving video of pre-born babies in the womb and their amazing development from conception to birth. As portions of Jeremiah 1:5 and Jeremiah 29:11 and other scriptures were printed beneath the images, I could not hold back the tears at the love of God in giving us precious children and the wonder of life.

I experienced their appeal and sweetness last night when parents brought their children to a fall festival our church was part of in cooperation with the volunteer fire department across the street. As they trooped in to play the games, eat hot dogs and be part of a costume contest, my husband and I had a birds-eye view. The activity we monitored, a “Dig for Treasure” box of sand with buried trinkets, was right in the center of the room. All evening, tots disguised as characters from cartoons, storybooks, movies or imagination, knelt on the floor and dug into the sand, eyes wide with delight as they pulled out shiny stones, beach creepy-crawlers, or glittering gems. Our fun part was to reward them with candy.

A tiny Wizard-of-Oz “Dorothy,” her black wig and braids perched slightly askew and dressed in a blue gingham dress with “ruby” slippers, stole our hearts, as did a “Bob the Builder” clad young man with tools on a belt around his waist. A sparkly Cinderella and tutu-encircled toddlers were irresistible as parents placed them in line to see if their darling would be judged the cutest. Using imagination, trying out identities, they are on their way to growing up. “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future,” Jeremiah 29:11. A smile, a kind look, a handed treat--small seeds of God’s love planted in this hope for the future, our children.