Children Are A Divine Gift Not A Human Right: Biblical Clarity And Gospel Comfort For Those Contemplating In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) -- By: Jason Meyer

Journal: Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
Volume: JBMW 20:2 (Fall 2015)
Article: Children Are A Divine Gift Not A Human Right: Biblical Clarity And Gospel Comfort For Those Contemplating In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
Author: Jason Meyer


Children Are A Divine Gift Not A Human Right: Biblical Clarity And Gospel Comfort For Those Contemplating In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

Jason Meyer

Pastor for Preaching and Vision
Bethlehem Baptist Church
Minneapolis, Minnesota

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
Psalm 139:13-16

When it comes to the topics of abortion, adoption, and reproductive technology, we are like little children who need to learn from our Father as to why we should love life. Children need help with this kind of thing.

Consider the value of a Tootsie Roll compared to a perfectly cut ten-carat diamond. A toddler would take the Tootsie Roll not the shiny rock. You would have to explain the value of the shiny rock to the toddler. You could put it in financial terms. A flawless, perfectly cut diamond is said to be worth

about $500,000. But to a toddler that amount of money is still not a good standard of comparison.

Would you rather have a yummy-to-your-tummy Tootsie Roll or a lot of paper bills? You need to convert the paper bills into currency that a toddler understands. A dollar will buy you about 36 Tootsie Rolls. If you had that perfectly cut shiny rock, which is equal to a stack of bills amounting to $500,000, you could have a pile of 18 million Tootsie Rolls. (Of course, you would probably want to save some of that money for toothpaste and dentist bills).

But how much would 57 million babies be worth? This is the number aborted since Roe v. Wade made abortion safe, legal, and far from rare.

Just like parents have to teach children what has true worth, our heavenly Father has to teach us. God alone can teach us because he alone is the gold standard. God is infinitely valuable, which means we measure worth in relation to God. Animals have value because God made them. Care of creation is important because everything God made has value. Humanity also has value by virtue of being made by God, but we have greater value because we are made in the image or likeness of God, not the image of monkeys.

As John Piper has said, “Wha...

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