A Meditation and Invite to CompassCare’s 2025 Walk for Life Weekend

By Rev. Jim Harden, M.Div.
CompassCare CEO
EMC FrontLine President

Jesus reveals that the greatest command is to love God with all we’ve got and our neighbor as ourselves (Mt. 22:38-39). Why? Because there are only two things in this world that are sacred: God and people.

Infinitely valuable. Every human being, from the moment of fertilization, is fully and equally human. And humanity is the glittering crown of God’s creation. Each human, therefore, is not merely created by God, but is uniquely designed to reflect Him (Gen. 1:26).

The regal dignity of carrying God’s image means that each and every human is an infinitely valuable treasure—even before we existed. God destined from eternity past for each of us in particular to live saying, “…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…” (Eph. 1:4a). God revealed to Jeremiah the prophet that He destined him to exist saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jer. 1:5).

Every man and woman, boy and girl, are God’s treasure. King David understood God intentionally created us and ordained us to exist in a specific time and place saying, “…in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them” (Ps. 139:16). And at the end of the Psalm, King David asks God to “lead me in the everlasting way” (Ps. 139:24b). Jesus, King of kings in the line of David, now shows us what that “everlasting way” is.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you” (Jn. 13:34). Our love is now to be a cruciform kind of love, freely giving all for the life of the other, as God did for us in creation and through re-creation in Christ.

When mankind fell (and continues falling) to the ancient temptation that our wisdom could give us the benefits of creation without the Creator, everything and everyone became expendable—a means to self-appointed royalty. In place of an “everlasting way,” what humanity got was the scepter of darkness and death reigning supreme. That is, until “the Sunrise from on high will visit us” (Lk. 1:78).

And He has visited us, lighting the path to peace with God.

Here is love: an infinite ransom price was assigned to our account and God in Christ was willing to pay it on the cross, “[rescuing] us from the domain of darkness, and [transferring] us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:13). This infinite expression of love not only demonstrates the infinite value of the object of that love, but reveals the counter-intuitive manner in which our life continues—self-sacrifice for one another.

Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Mt. 13:45-46). Jesus is the merchant and people are the pearls purchased by the sacrifice of His life.

We too must “sell all that we have” for Christ, following this new “everlasting way,” to “love one another, even as I have loved you” (John 13:34), self-sacrificing on behalf of the weak and vulnerable, for the kingdom of God is love.

From a baby with Down’s Syndrome to the next Beethoven, from an embryo in cryostasis to a billion-dollar technology baron, we are all infinitely valuable. While we all pass through stages of maturity, our inherent God-given dignity does not wax or wane. To destroy a person, born or preborn, or to disqualify any category of person from protection under the law, not only degrades human value but disrespects our Creator in whose image we are made. That is why an ethical doctor understands that he is serving two people when treating a pregnant woman.

The original Hippocratic Oath affirms that abortion is not medical care, but the epitome of quackery. Unfortunately, many students coming through medical school and seasoned physicians alike do not have the moral categories for understanding ethical medicine and decision-making in the context of women’s reproductive health.

Jesus calls His followers to “make disciples… teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…” (Mat. 28:19-20). If you tune into the Online Rally, you will see how the theological principles of the pro-life position can be easily shared without your pro-abortion friend, neighbor, or family member feeling attacked. They might even thank you for broadening their understanding when you’re done.

Helping women considering abortion to have their babies by leveraging free ethical medical care and community support is part of the everlasting way, loving sacrificially, for the life of the other just as Jesus did for us. Our sacrifice to protect the lives of others respects God’s sovereign act of creation and points to His amazing act of salvation. Seeking to save souls physically and spiritually reflects the infinite value He places on us.

By Walking for Life, you teach the world all that Jesus commanded us—from the truth that we are infinitely valued to the command that we love others as He has loved us.

Please consider joining the Walk for Life this year, raising funds to save lives while teaching the truth about the infinite value of each person as made in the image of God to your community.

In Christ,

Rev. Jim Harden