Life is very sacred to God. It is so sacred to Him that its sanctity is guaranteed in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:13). Our Lord Jesus Christ also emphasized the sanctity of life in Luke 9:56a, where He said:
“For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”
As children of God, we must therefore ensure that we uphold the sanctity of life, irrespective of the philosophy or ideas in vogue in the world.

Genesis 21:9-21 shows in vivid terms how precious life is to the Almighty, who is the Giver of life. Hagar and her son Ishmael had been ejected from the household of Abraham by God’s instruction, and with a limited provision of water, they wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. When their water got finished, the child became so dehydrated that it cried for survival. At the brink of death, God heard the cry of the lad and He supernaturally provided a well of water for them in the midst of the wilderness. One would have thought that the circumstances surrounding the birth of Ishmael would have made him a total outcast in the sight of God. Instead of being an outcast, God heard his cry as the cry of an innocent lad, and this caused God to come to his rescue. God did not only save his life, He also made him an astonishing promise of greatness, saying in Genesis 21:18:
“Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.”

One lesson from the story of Hagar and Ishmael is that while God was instructing their ejection, He was also preparing for their survival in the wilderness. Another lesson here is for those who abort unborn babies because they do not want them. Such people should know that they are making a grievous mistake against their own future and they are committing a grievous sin against the Giver of life. What they don’t seems to understand is that although they did not prepare for the pregnancy, God who saw what led to the pregnancy has a plan for the life they are bringing to the world, even though they may not know it, and for this reason, you must be careful about what you do to lives within your sphere of influence. Why take a life you did not and cannot create? Takers of life will not be guiltless before God. Therefore, in whatever form you are taking lives, stop it today and cry to God for forgiveness.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.