Defend life. Delight in birth.
Isaiah Bruce, his momma Chelsea, and his Sabba
Pictures below include Isaiah, his dad, Samuel, his sister Marilyn, his RLee, Pappy & Grammy, & Uncle Tyler
Watermark. An indelible imprint is on every page of our lives indicating who and whose we are; the impression, the sign, of our identity.
As I pondered the birth of a new grandchild (you can see pictures on IG, FB, or Twitter!) thoughts of generations, remembrance, and identity came to my mind.
Our culture wants to allow “identity” as something we create for ourselves: “I say who I am, not another.” Transgenders would subscribe to such a view which puts them at odds with homosexuals who believe “I was born this way.”
Others suggest our “identity” is a product of our environment: home, school, and friends. “Surely,” such believers would say, “Where, how, and with whom we grow up makes us who we are.” Still more would have us believe our humanness is simply an act of birth. Our father-mother, sperm-egg, family-history makes all the difference.
There may be pieces of truth about our identity resident within each of those perspectives. But we are still left without an ultimate origin, a source of identity which transcends human, earth-bound reality.
The “image” on my driver’s license identifies who I am, but it does not identify whose I am. All of the aforementioned ideas about identity come from us. But we don’t “own” ourselves. If we did, we would have jurisdiction over our birth and our death.
No I believe my “image” is not simply what looks back at me from the mirror; my “image” is the “image” of Another. Whose I am must begin apart from me, outside of me. As a Christian my identity is directly tied to my Creator, in whose image I am made.
Nowhere is the idea of “image” more pronounced this weekend than the remembrance of Roe v Wade; the Supreme Court decision making abortion of babies legal. As I reflect on what it means to be a grandfather, imagining the death toll of over 50 million American children, I return again to the metaphor of a watermark. I believe there is an indelible imprint on me in the person of my Personal Creator.
I encourage us to consider the following questions:
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How does my view of myself match up with my view of God?
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What other ideas come to my mind when I think of a “watermark”?
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Why, if we create our own identity, do we continue to discuss our origins?
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Who establishes the authority for “identity” in our present culture?
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What is the ultimate end of each view of “identity”?
If we do not control our birth, we cannot say “identity” is ours to decide.
This post is in remembrance of all the children aborted since 1973, all who bore God’s watermark, their identity.
Dr. Mark Eckel believes that all who celebrate the holiday remembering MLK–himself, a defender of life–should also remember Pro-Life Weekend. Mark is President of The Comenius Institute.
I was born on my Mother’s 15th birthday. The year Roe v wade came into law. In a girls home,where the state (her legal guardian’s) pressured her to have a abortion. She has said many times,that she knew,without even knowing God at the time,that her child being born was his will.This is my watermark. I obviously,am thankful to my little mom and to the Lord,for being bigger in her than the world.
Excellent article, thanks for sharing! Congratulations on the birth of your grandchild! Sometimes it seems that the pro-life movement is more a pro “pre-natal” life movement, that becomes active during an election cycle. Once the person is born that life is less important. Apart from trying to get people to vote for their “pro (pre-natal) life” candidate, there does not seem to be actual work to address promiscuity, poverty (a significant factor in considering abortion), and working with women to persuade them to choose life over abortion, and helping them with their newborns.
Your article provides a strong basis for persuasion to always choose life, from prenatal and for a lifetime.
We identify with our Creator, Almighty God who placed His indelible watermark on us from pre-birth, to birth, and for a lifetime.
We like to think that we are completely autonomous but we aren’t. We like to think that we are the highest authority but we aren’t. There are many things we are able to do that we shouldn’t do. To me, abortion is one of those things. It is sad and infuriating that there is an actual legally sanctioned and funded baby killing industry in this country. I remember when we were expecting our first son. My wife just had an ultrasound where the technician pointed out all the typical features on his little body to us – then they called us into a “counseling room.” They informed us that our boy had “clubbed feet” meaning the bottoms of his feet were facing each other. This is completely treatable and in fact, his feet look like any normal boy’s now. He walks, runs, and jumps just fine. I never will forget how the counselor, after revealing the birth defect, asked us if we would like to abort our son. I mean, just like that – as easy as someone politely asking, “Can I throw your trash away for you?”
Abortions predate Darwin’s theory of evolution, but it’s because of his godless theory that many people today rationalize murdering their own offspring in the womb. If, instead of bearing the image of God and possessing the inherent dignity that comes with that, we are merely the product of billions of years of chance and random mutation, we answer to no one. Everything becomes subjective because there’s no objective standard that transcends culture and society. A child in the womb can be a “baby” to those who are eagerly expecting or just “fetal tissue” to those who don’t want “it.” No one seems to care about the obvious contradiction there.
Finally, I just have to share that there have been two experiences in my life that brought about a profound awareness of God and His love and power more than any other. One: anytime I’ve been to the mountains surrounded by the majesty of His own handiwork. The scale and the beauty – breathtaking. The other: witnessing both of my boys come into this world. Holding their little bodies and gazing at them with love and wonder. Yes, my wife and I contributed the biological material necessary for the conception, but God gave those little guys their eternal souls and they bear His image as we all do.