By Alisha Woodall, FirstLook’s Creative Marketing Director
If you’ve been a part of the pro-life movement for any time at all, then you’ve heard the phrase, “Sanctity of Life.” But what does that really mean?
In doing a little research on the root word, “sanct”, I found that it is Latin for sacred, holy, inviolable, divine. Words and definitions are great, but experiences and feelings are what truly attach a person to the meaning of a word.
As a first-time parent, what my eyes have been privileged to see, and then trickle down into awe in my heart, has only elevated the truth of life being sacred. Let me explain.
The first time I sat my 6 month old daughter, Selah, in the green summer grass, I watched her touch grass with such curiosity and intrigue. I had no idea how much I would enjoy watching her experience grass for the first time of all things! Grass – something I never think of unless it’s too tall and needs to be cut! But not her, she smiled as it tickled her bare legs and grabbed each blade like it was a brand new toy.
Fast forward three and a half years to this winter when we took Selah to Colorado right after a big snow. Have you ever seen a 4 year old dive, roll, swim and eat snow all at the same time as if it were cotton candy? I have, and the pure joy I felt just watching is something I‘ll never forget. Or her huge grin and squeal of glee as she went down a little slope on a sled for the very first time!
Life is a person physically living, yes, but it’s so much more too. Life is getting to experience all of your firsts; even better – life is getting to watch someone else’s firsts. Life is being reunited with someone you love; life is the best memories you never forget; life is wisdom that only comes with age. But none of this is possible if the person is not alive.
So therein lies the point. Sanctity becomes more than a phrase associated with a movement, it becomes experiential, relational, tangible. Sanctity of Life isn’t a movement or a buzzword slapped on a poster; it’s a breath-taking awe for the sacredness of the extraordinary gift of life.
Ultimately, a life is sacred and precious because it reflects the sacredness and preciousness of the One who created it. The One who said in Genesis 1, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness..” and “…behold, it was VERY good.”