# 19 When Does Life Begin?

The Book of Genesis Day 19 Ge 2:7 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 being. When does life begin? Some say life begins at conception. Others say it begins when the fertilized egg adheres to the uterus. Others say life begins when brain waves are present, others say when the heart starts to beat, and some incredibly say that life begins when the baby is outside the womb. The day is coming, and is already here when some say that life begins only when the child is wanted. What does the Bible say about this? There are a couple of verses that come to mind that should help the Bible believing Christian settle the matter. First of all, the Holy Spirit, speaking through David says in Ps 51:5 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.” This verse verifies that we are sinners, tainted with original sin from the moment of conception. The Bible also tells is that “the wages of sin is death.” (Rom 6:23) Think about it. If the wage of sin (and we have it from conception on) is death, how can it be exacted on the guilty party if he or she is not alive? Life begins at conception! God is the author of life as we read in Ps 139:13, “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb.” And in Ps 139:16, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” And in Job 10:10,11, we get a graphic look at the process of fertilization and embryonic development, “ Did you not pour me out like milk, And curdle me like cheese, 11 Clothe me with skin and flesh, And knit me together with bones and sinews?” In fact, God’s hand is in the creation of life even before fertilization as He is familiar with the very sperm and egg used in the process of the creation of a new life! Jer 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." You see, life really began here on the sixth day of creation when God formed the first man from dust and personally breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life and man became a living being! This is when life begins and it was meant to continue without unnatural barriers as man received the blessing from God, “Be fruitful and multiply!” Any interruption of that process is an attempt by man to play God and Creator. Because God breathed into the nostrils of man, we know that every life that proceeds from that man is precious to God and it ought to be precious to us as well. Just how precious? God surrendered the life of His only Son to redeem us from our sin and every time we take the life of another, we in effect say, “Big deal” and that’s what’s really wrong with abortion, euthanasia, infanticide and murder. But thanks be to God, that in spite of our misguided ideas about the origin of human life, He still sent His Son to die for our sins, and there is no sin that Jesus did not pay for on the cross. Through faith in Jesus and confession of our sins we are promised complete forgiveness. Reflect: Have you ever experienced an interruption in a conversation with someone? How about an interruption in plans? How did those interruptions make you feel? How do you think God feels when we “interrupt” the lives of others? Can we trust God to regulate the size of our families? Pray: Father, You are the Author of life and we thank You for the gift that it is. Forgive us when we devalue it, in any way. Heal our land from the scourge of legalized abortion and turn our hearts back to profound respect for all life. Amen