To mark this my 50th Lighthouse Devotion I once again undertook the search for unusual lighthouses. This one resulted in an instant jaw dropper. Yes, that is a baby bottle! This unique 15 ft. lighthouse is the first and only in the world that was designed to resemble a "bah-bah." It is known, obviously, as the Baby Bottle Lighthouse and it is located in Gijang-gun, Busan, Korea. It is appropriately decorated with tiles that are adorned with the hand and footprints of 144 babies and children. The lighthouse was built as part of a story telling project to encourage childbirth, and that is precisely what inspired me to write this devotion.
South Korea’s birth rate has declined drastically since the 1960s and as a result, it is the lowest in the developed world. The government has spent billions of dollars (yes, billions) to help reverse the decline. Incentives to boost family growth have included guaranteed unpaid leave for fertility treatment, increased paternity pay, and priority to public childcare for households with 3 or more children, among others. Can you imagine? While our government has been funding organizations to terminate pregnancies for years (hopefully that will change now with the new administration), here is a country that has been investing in ways to encourage them. They even built a lighthouse to spur human procreation for crying out loud!
Needless to say, I believe that life begins at conception. Just as the heavens declare the glory of God so does his earthly creation. It is by God’s will and power that the unborn are formed in the womb. Every human fetus carries the breath of life and is purposed to become a light in the world. Every child born is like a ray of light from heaven; a testimony of God’s creative power and the proclamation of His love for life.
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Unfortunately, there will always be those who disparage life, whether born or unborn. The only thing that will convince them that “All Life Matters” is a direct revelation from the living God. Therefore, we who have become the light of the world need to continuously pray for and not attack or ignore them. We are to love and engage them in meaningful, not quarrelsome, conversations that will lead them to consider the value of human life at every stage.
So, let us celebrate life as we see God’s light shining through the miracle of every pregnancy. Let us support men and women who are struggling to raise their children alone. Let us encourage those who are pregnant and contemplating abortion to chose life. And let us help save lives by donating our time and funds to life promoting agencies. Here are some wonderful ways that you, your family and/or church can help promote the light of life.
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Prayer: Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, stir within me a greater appreciation for life and lead me to encourage those who deem it unimportant. Help me to truly value every human being born and unborn so that your life-giving light within me becomes a greater testimony of your love and purposeful plan for everyone. Thank you Lord, for my life. May it continue to shine for your glory. In Jesus name I pray, amen.
"This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live." -Deuteronomy 30:19
"For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works and that my soul knows well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 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." -Psalm 139:13-16 (NKJV)
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." -Jeremiah 1:5
"Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the One who formed you from the womb, ‘I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself, and spreading out the earth all alone . . .'" -Isaiah 44:24 (NASV)
"Behold, children are a gift of the LORD; the fruit of the womb is a reward" -Psalm 127:3 (NASV)
-ALL SCRIPTURE IS QUOTED FROM THE NIV EXCEPT WHERE SPECIFIED
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