Genesis 8:20-9:17

If we want to stand for life in a post-Roe America, this passage is calling us to embrace three realities.

Outline

First, Stand for life by remembering the mission of God (8:20-9:3, 7)
Second, Stand for life by reflecting the image of God (9:4-6)
- It expects violence against those made in the image of God to continue
- This passage also expects accountability for those who harm people made in the image of God
Third, Stand for life by resting in the promises of God (9:8-17)

In Ephesians 5:2, Paul shows how Jesus is the culmination of the sacrificial system started in Gen. 8. He is the once and for all sacrifice that offers a pleasing aroma to God. How does Paul say we should respond? We respond to the way of love shown on the cross by seeking to walk in love during our daily lives. The love of Jesus is a model for us. “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Think about the pain we feel at the unexpected loss of unborn children – When there’s no heartbeat on the ultrasound, when the baby arrives in the delivery room with a terminal disease and only lives for a few hours, when the miscarriage happens yet again – those tears we shed in those moments of loss are a sign of what we know to be true – that child is not a clump of cells, it is not fetal tissue, it is not medical waste; every child, even the one in the womb, is fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God; the lament we feel at their loss should drive us to do whatever it takes to stand for life
Each time we see a rainbow, even when it is used to celebrate things that are contrary to God’s design, it should be a reminder to us of this Genesis 9 covenant – this covenant of mercy, this covenant of peace, this covenant of love; as we rest in this promise, it should change the way we live.